


Reversal of Fortune

by shoshanna33



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-01-30 12:01:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 63,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12653157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shoshanna33/pseuds/shoshanna33
Summary: Draco has been disowned by his family and must make due in the real world. Will he be able to do it? And how will he handle the fact that his new neighbor is none other than Hermione Granger? Can they get along or is this a match made in hell? Dramione.





	1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters here. I merely borrow them from JK Rowling and company for my own amusement, and hopefully yours too. Please don’t sue. I have nothing of value anyway.

**Reversal of Fortune**

**Summary:** Draco has been disowned by his family and must make due in the real world. Will he be able to do it? And how will he handle the fact that his new neighbor is none other than Hermione Granger? Can they get along or is this a match made in hell? Dramione.

Hermione sat in her flat reading a book with some soft music playing in the background. Her cat was perched on the edge of the sofa and she had her feet up on the coffee table. It was a lovely Saturday morning and she was enjoying a nice cup of tea along with her book. That is until she heard loud commotion coming from the outside hallway to her apartment. She could hear people talking and every once in a while she’d hear something heavy drop or smash into the wall, followed by loud cursing. Curiosity got the better of her and she stood up and went to the peephole. She could see a large bed being carried by two men into the apartment across from her. She couldn’t make out their faces, but one of them was tall and blonde. She deduced that the empty apartment across from her was now being rented by someone obviously, but she had no idea what to expect. She just hoped whoever they were, they were quieter than they were being right now. She was annoyed with how much racket they were making, especially when they couldn’t fit the big mattress through the front door. The blonde man started kicking the wall and his friend just shook his head. Hermione sighed and went to sit back down again. She wasn’t that friendly with her neighbors really because she was living a secret life. She was in a Muggle building and she had to pretend to be one in order to live there. But it wasn’t always easy to hide the fact that she was a witch. Part of her wanted to go across the hall and use magic to help the poor sod get his bed in the door, but she knew she couldn’t do any such thing. But it would simple it up a lot, that’s for sure.

  
She heard the kicking and the cursing stop and she figured out they must have gotten the bed inside finally. She wondered if it was a single man living there, or a couple. She hadn’t seen a girl yet, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one waiting in the wings. After all, she had stopped peeking at them. But curiosity got her thinking and she went to the door and looked out again. This time a large brute of a man was walking into the apartment with boxes under his arms. The blonde man was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the bed. She wasn’t entirely sure which of the people was actually moving in. She thought perhaps that even if she couldn’t use magic she might offer to lend a hand. But then she realized she wasn’t that strong really and why should she care to help a stranger move his things in? It looked like he had plenty of help already, as another man walked out of the apartment and presumably went to go get another item to bring in. He was smaller than the man with the box, but she didn’t see the blonde man anymore. She warred with herself about offering to help, and then realized she had some biscuits in a tin that someone gave her that she never ate or opened. Maybe it would be a nice gesture to at least bring them as a housewarming gift to the new neighbor?

  
She went to her pantry and rummaged through it until she found the tin of biscuits and pulled them out. She checked herself in the mirror first to make sure she was presentable, and then she proceeded to open the door and almost ran into the guy who had been helping the blonde man with the mattress.

  
“Oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean to run into you,” she said startled slightly.

  
“No worries. I’m just in a bit of a rush. I have to be somewhere soon and I have to finish helping this guy move in,” he explained quickly.

  
“Oh, so you’re not the one moving in?” she wondered.

  
“No, it’s another bloke. He paid me and my buddy Jack to help him move. The man has a lot of shit, pardon my language. It’s never going to fit inside this tiny little flat,” he chuckled.

  
Just then, the blonde man appeared at the door and looked cross with the other man.

  
“Am I paying you to chat up birds in the hallway or am I paying you to move my shit?” he grumbled angrily.

  
Hermione just stood there and stared at him and couldn’t believe her eyes. She finally got a good look at his face. Plus his voice was one she’d know anywhere.

  
“Malfoy?” she asked with astonishment.

  
He looked away from the man and back at her, just noticing who she was for the first time.

  
“Oh perfect. It’s Granger. Please tell me you don’t live in this building too?” he said grumpily.

  
“As a matter of fact, I do. I live right there,” she pointed to her door. “What the hell are you doing in this building? Isn’t it a little beneath you?” she wondered.

  
“Look I don’t have time to explain right now. I have to get the moving truck back in thirty minutes so these two buffoons need to speed it up,” he said ignoring her question.

  
“Man, it’s never going to all fit. You should have had a yard sale or something,” the guy complained.

  
“Just go get more stuff. I’m right behind you,” Draco said shoving the guy away from the door and propelling him back outside. Then he looked at Hermione holding her biscuit tin. “Are you still out here? Shows over. Go back inside.”

  
“I-I was just going to offer you these biscuits as a welcome to the building, but never mind. I can see you’re as pleasant as ever,” she said giving him a look.

  
“Are the biscuits poisoned?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  
“No.”

  
“Then I’ll take those,” he said, grabbing them out of her hands.

  
“Hey! Give those back!” she cried, reaching for them.

  
“You said they were for me,” he pointed out.

  
“Yeah, but I didn’t know it was YOU in there. I thought someone nice might have moved in. Give me back the biscuits!” she tried wrestling them out of his grasp.

  
“Fine, take them! I don’t need your lame old grandma looking biscuits anyway. Probably re-gifting them anyway, am I right?” he sneered at her.

  
She didn’t know what to say to him since he was right, they were re-gifted. But it was supposed to be the thought that counted! But she grabbed them up under her arm and stormed back inside her flat and slammed the door. Why of all people was Draco Malfoy living across from her? Shouldn’t he be in some penthouse suite or a mansion in the country side? She couldn’t fathom why he was living in the city in an older run-down apartment building. Half the time the lift didn’t even work. She took the stairs mostly. But she was a single girl with mediocre paying job at the Ministry, and not some pureblooded elite snob who pissed galleons, like Draco was. She didn’t understand why he was even there at all. But she tossed the tin of biscuits on her kitchen counter and decided to go back to reading her book. Even if now all she could think of was that Draco was her new neighbor. She really, really hoped she never saw him out and about. She hadn’t seen him in years and didn’t care to see him now. And it was clear by his attitude that he didn’t want to see her either.

  
Time passed and everything was all quiet across the hall. She figured they finished their task and went to deliver the moving truck back. And she just kept wondering if Draco actually drove a moving truck by himself. Surely he didn’t. But then again, he was now living below his means, so perhaps he had stooped so low as to drive a common rented truck, even though she could not picture that at all. But she went about her business and when night came, she decided to run to the corner mart and get some food for supper. She had been so thrown off by Draco moving in that she forgot to go to the regular market and now she didn’t feel like making the trek. She’d just eat something small for supper. But as soon as she walked out her door, Draco opened his door up.

  
“Ugh, you again,” he grumbled under his breath.

  
“I’m not exactly jumping for joy over seeing you again either, blondie,” she shot back at him as she clutched her purse tightly.

  
“Where’s the rubbish bin in this place?” Draco asked with a sigh as he was holding a bag in his hands that he didn’t know what to do with.

  
“The what?” she asked, still trying to get used to speaking to such an unpleasant person.

  
“The rubbish bin. Where the fuck is it? Or do you people just leave your trash lying about the hallways?” he asked impatiently.

  
“It’s down the hall to the left. You’ll find the little chute next to the fire extinguisher on the wall,” she said, unsure of why she was helping him out at all.

  
“Thank you,” he said coolly and turned around and marched off.

  
“You’re welcome, you fuckwit,” she mumbled under her breath as she turned the other way and went down the stairs and out into the night.

  
Draco just marched down the hallway and found the trash chute. It was right where she said it was. And he deposited his rubbish and sighed. This was his life now. He was no longer living in a cushy mansion, but rather a dingy little flat in the heart of the city. And he was no longer rolling in money, as his father had disowned him for refusing to marry a girl he didn’t love. Draco had been given an ultimatum. Either he married Astoria Greengrass, a girl he didn’t even know, or he get out of the mansion and live on his own. After many arguments and tantrums thrown by him, he was unceremoniously thrown out of Malfoy Manor and told not to come back unless he was prepared to marry. He was allowed to keep the contents of his room, and that was it. He didn’t even have a job. Just a little startup money his mum gave him so he wouldn’t be homeless, but now he had to actually find a job. He had no idea what he was going to do. And part of him thought he should just get married and avoid all this drama. But he had bowed down to his father one too many times, and he just couldn’t do it anymore. Not when his whole life was at stake. He wanted to marry a woman he loved someday. He didn’t want to live in such an archaic environment where his father dictated everything. And now this was the price he paid. Living like a common Muggle. With Granger for a neighbor, no less. Of all the buildings in the city, why’d he pick the one she lived in? He was hoping to just blend in and not be reminded of his past. But that was going to be impossible now. He went back inside his flat and shut the door and just sat down on a stack of boxes and shook his head.

  
When Hermione came back to her flat, she was pleased to not see Draco in the hallway. So she opened her door and Crookshanks immediately ran out. That wasn’t like him as he knew he wasn’t allowed outdoors anymore, but he went straight for Draco’s door and started scratching on it.

  
“Will you get over here? Stop scratching at the mean man’s door!” she scolded her cat.

  
But he didn’t listen. He just kept meowing and scratching and raising himself on his hind legs so he could rattle the doorknob. This was something he did to Hermione whenever she locked him out of her bedroom. But she did not want him bothering Draco.

  
“Crookshanks! Get back over here! My hands are full!” she cried at her wayward pet.

  
Just then the door opened up and Crookshanks went running inside Draco’s flat immediately. He watched as the cat ran past him and then he looked at Hermione.

  
“Oh God, what the hell was that?” he asked miserably as he saw the orange blur of a cat run past him.

  
“That’s my cat. I’m really sorry. For some reason he wanted inside your flat. I tried to stop him!” she explained.

  
“A cat? I hate cats. Great. Now it’s in my flat. You gotta get rid of it,” he said with annoyance.

  
“Let me just put my bags down,” she said with a sigh as she set them down inside her doorway and walked back over to Draco.

  
“Wait. What are you doing?” he asked as she tried to enter his apartment.

  
“You said to get the cat. I’m getting the cat,” she shrugged.

  
“Can’t you just call him out? Doesn’t it listen to you?” he wondered.

  
“Obviously not or he wouldn’t have run inside your flat to begin with. It’s a cat. It has a mind of its own,” she told him.

  
“Ugh. My place is a mess. Just remember, I only moved in today. Nothing’s unpacked. So make it snappy,” he said, motioning for her to come in and look for the cat.

  
“Don’t worry, I’m not paying attention to your crap. I just want my bloody cat back. I swear he was acting like you had a whole tuna fish hanging from the ceiling the way he was dying to get into your place,” she said, shaking her head.

  
“I don’t have any fish hanging around my place, trust me,” he informed her.

  
She walked in and saw nothing but boxes and what appeared to be a lot of junk to her eyes. She found her cat perched on the window ledge batting at something she couldn’t see right away and then she realized it was a mouse. A little mouse was attempting to get in through the slightly open window and Crookshanks was threatening to eat it.

  
“What do you have there, huh?” she asked her cat with a small sigh.

  
When Draco saw the mouse though, he actually let out a scream. It startled Hermione and her cat, and they both jumped.

  
“What? Afraid of a mouse?” Hermione chuckled at him.

  
“For your information I’m not afraid. I was simply taken off guard. But really, a mouse? In my flat? Is this a common occurrence? I was told this building was clean!” he complained, catching his breath and trying to save face in front of Hermione.

  
“It is a clean building but sometimes mice come in. That’s why I have a cat. Perhaps you need one?” she said, as she shut the window fully and scooped her cat up under her arm. “There, now it can’t get in. But you might wanna leave some traps out,” she told him as she attempted to leave.

  
“Wait! _Traps_? Mousetraps? I-I don’t know where to get those. And you can’t leave with a mouse hovering at my window! Get rid of it!” he cried, forgetting that he was supposed to be cool and unaffected by the rodent.

  
“Draco, you’ve got a wand. Just poof it away. Turn it into a teacup for all I care. Didn’t we learn that spell in our third year or something?” she sighed.

  
“Right. Right. Just poof it into a teacup. I hadn’t thought of that. I just didn’t want it to come at me and try and eat me while I slept,” he said smoothing down his hair and trying to act naturally.

  
“God Draco, you’re such a sissy. It’s a mouse not a grizzly bear. It isn’t going to eat you,” she laughed at him.

  
“Shut up. I’ve heard stories where rats eat babies when they sleep!” he shot back at her.

  
“It’s not a rat, it’s a little mouse. And besides, I think that’s just an Urban Legend about the babies. I’m sure you’re safe. Or do you want me to get rid of the mouse for you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  
“No, I can do it. Just run along. Who invited you in anyway?” he scoffed, never taking his eyes off the mouse at the window.

  
“You told me to come in! But whatever. I’m hungry. I’m making supper. Good luck with your mouse problem,” she said as she turned on her heel and took her cat away to her own apartment.

  
She left Draco just standing there, but she figured he’d be fine. She scolded the cat again for running into his apartment, but apparently he could sense a mouse even from that far away. He was a special cat, being part Kneazle meant he had excellent senses. But it was not very useful when you were trying to avoid your new neighbor. But just for the fact that she witnessed Draco being scared of a little mouse, she decided to give Crookshanks a treat. He deserved it. It wasn’t a mouse buffet but it would have to do. She couldn’t help laughing to herself when she thought of the way Draco screamed like a little girl when he saw it. It was the best thing she’d seen in a while. She started putting her meager groceries away and made a quick sandwich for supper and sat back down to watch some telly. That is until someone came knocking on her door. She got up and looked out the peephole and saw Draco standing there again and she rolled her eyes. She opened the door.

  
“What is it now?” she asked stifling a fake yawn.

  
“I need sugar. Do you have sugar?” he asked holding out a measuring cup to her.

  
“Sugar? Are you actually baking something in there?” she asked with much curiosity.

  
“Of course not. Don’t be absurd. Me? Baking? I’m trying to have a cup of tea but I don’t have any sugar,” he explained with a put out expression on his face.

  
“Tea? That makes more sense at least. Fine, I’ll get you some sugar,” she sighed as she grabbed the measuring cup from him and went to the kitchen.

  
Draco cautiously entered the apartment and noticed the cat licking himself on the sofa. He was sated by the cat treats and part of Hermione’s sandwich, so he had no urge to run off to find more mice. But Draco just stood there uncomfortably.

  
“So did your cat run into the wall at Platform 9 ¾ or was his face always squashed up like that?” Draco asked her.

  
She made a face at him and handed over the cup of sugar.

  
“He always looked like that, you dork. I think he’s beautiful.”

  
“You would,” he said snarkily under his breath.

  
“What?”

  
“Nothing. Uh, thanks for the sugar. I won’t be bothering you again,” he told her.

  
“I should hope not. It’s not like we can even stand each other,” she remarked.

  
“Look, I didn’t wanna come over here at all, but I don’t know anyone else,” he said with a sigh.

  
“You could just go to the corner market for sugar,” she offered him.

  
“I’m a little strapped for cash, if you must know,” he admitted reluctantly.

  
“Really? What happened?” she asked inquisitively, even if she couldn’t stand him. She had to admit she was dying to know what he was doing living there with her.

  
“As if I’d tell you,” he scoffed, clutching the cup of sugar tightly.

  
“Fine. Don’t tell me. Just go drink your tea,” she said motioning for him to leave.

“Fine.

“Great.”

“Perfect.”

“Leave!” she shouted angrily.

  
He started to say something else, but thought better of it. She might take her sugar back. So he just turned on his heel and marched out of her apartment and slammed the door. She let out a breath and shook her head. This was going to be interesting, she thought to herself. And she wasn’t sure she was going to like it.

  
The next day, Draco didn’t emerge from his flat and Hermione snuck out in order to see Harry. He was meeting her for breakfast. And even if she wasn’t exactly in hiding, she tried hard to avoid her new neighbor. But she couldn’t wait to tell Harry all about it. When she got to the coffee shop, Harry was already waiting at a table with two coffees. She smiled when she saw him and sat down across from him.

  
“Hey Harry,” she grinned.

  
“Hermione. What’s so important you just had to see me today?” he asked giving her a look.

  
“You will never in a million years guess who moved in across the hall from me yesterday,” she said quickly.

“Who?”

“Just guess!”

“I have no idea. Someone famous?” he offered.

“No! It’s better than that. Draco Malfoy! He lives in Mrs. Donaldson’s old place. I didn’t have the heart to tell him she died in there last month because he was already so upset about seeing a mouse. Lord only knows what he’d do if he thought the place was haunted. Which on second thought, might actually be hilarious,” she said thoughtfully.

  
“What? Malfoy moved into your building? Why?” Harry was confused.

  
“No clue. He mentioned something about being strapped for cash when he borrowed sugar from me,” she shrugged as she sipped her already made coffee.

  
“Strapped for cash? Wait, he borrowed sugar? Was he making a cake?” Harry laughed slightly.

  
“That’s what I wondered! But no, he was having tea. I don’t know what to even do with myself now! I had to sneak out this morning before he heard me. God only knows what else he’ll want to borrow from me next. It’s just so weird to me that he lives there. I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to handle such weirdness.”

  
“Maybe he has a gambling problem and lost all his money?” Harry tossed out.

  
“He doesn’t strike me as the gambling type,” she told him.

  
“Well there must be some reason he’s strapped for cash. Surely his family still has money,” Harry said.

  
“Well if they do, they’re not giving it to him anymore.”

  
“You have to find out what’s going on! Talk to him. I’m insanely curious,” Harry said excitedly.

  
“Talk to him? Are you mad? I don’t want to talk to him!” Hermione cried.

  
“But it’ll be like research or something. Get to the bottom of things,” Harry explained.

  
“It’s not my business,” she said shaking her head.

  
“Oh but come on. You know you wanna know,” he smiled at her and took a sip of his coffee.

  
“Why don’t you come to my flat and ask him yourself?” she offered up.

  
“I can’t. I have somewhere to be later. Ginny wants me to come home after our breakfast. Big day planned of cleaning out our flat,” he told her.

  
“Doesn’t that sound exciting. Cleaning? Isn’t it more exciting to find out why Draco is suddenly broke and my neighbor?” she pouted.

  
“Ginny would kill me though. I promised her I’d be back in an hour.”

  
“Spoil sport. How am I going to find reasons to talk to him?” she wondered.

  
“I’m sure you will. And then call me to tell me what it is. Be our spy. Because I really want to laugh over his misfortune. Bugger had it coming,” Harry chuckled slightly.

  
“Be a spy? Fine. I’ve done worse. But he’s gonna get mad at me if I push him for details,” she said.

  
“Just be charming.”

  
“I’m afraid my charm doesn’t work on Draco. He still acts like I’m beneath him, even if he’s living in a crappy apartment. With hardly any furniture, I might add. He just had a lot of boxes of crap,” she told Harry.

  
“Just still try and charm your way into his good graces. At least long enough to find out the story,” Harry urged her.

  
Hermione didn’t really feel comfortable being the spy, but in all fairness, it was her that was being a gossip about Draco moving in. She supposed it was up to her to find out more, if anyone was to find that out. So she decided to buy Draco a houseplant and give it to him as an offering of neighborly friendliness and maybe he’d invite her in and spill his guts? A girl could dream. So after she and Harry ate their breakfast, they parted ways and she set off to a shop to buy a plant. She settled on a nice fern that was hard to kill. She carried it home and came to Draco’s door. She could hear nothing coming from inside and she wondered if he was out. But she decided to pound on the door anyway and see if he’d open up. And he did.

  
“You again? What do you want?” he asked with exasperation, as he stood barefoot and shirtless at the door. It looked like he’d recently woken up.

  
“I bought you this plant. It looked like your flat could use some cheering up, so here you go,” she thrust the fern into his hands and tried not to notice how good he looked without a shirt on.

  
“A plant? Do I look like I want a plant?” he asked distastefully.

  
“Everyone likes plants, don’t they?” she surmised.

  
“What do I do with it?” he asked with a sigh.

  
“You water it, silly. And then just look at it. It’s not really an interactive gift. It’s a bloody fern. Just put it on a shelf,” she said with exasperation.

  
“Alright. Thanks Granger,” he said before slamming the door in her face.

  
“Mission not accomplished,” she muttered to herself as she stared at the closed door.

  
She thought about knocking again, but realized she had no reason to knock. Obviously the fern did not work as a conversation starter. But she was betting a bottle of Firewhiskey would do the trick. Alcohol always made people spill their guts. So she turned around and headed out to buy a bottle and hand that over to him under the guise of them drinking together. Of course it was only eleven am, so it’d have to wait a bit. But she had all the time in the world.

  
When night fell, she put on her cutest casual outfit and picked up the bottle of whiskey to take to Draco’s. She knocked on the door again and he opened it up, this time wearing jeans and t-shirt and he gave her an interesting look.

  
“Back again? What is it this time?” he sighed getting exasperated with her constant presence.

  
“I-I bought this bottle of Firewhiskey and I thought we could share it,” she said with a smile.

  
“Share it? Are we best buds now? Why are you really here? Did my mother send you over here?” he asked quizzically.

  
“Your mother? No. Why on earth would your mother send me anywhere?” she asked with confusion.

  
“Nothing. Nevermind. You’re right, she wouldn’t send you over here because she doesn’t know where I am,” he sighed.

  
“Why are you here, Draco?” she just tossed it out without pretense.

  
“I’m not telling you,” he scoffed.

  
“Fine. Enjoy the whiskey then,” she said feeling foolish and turning on her heel to go back into her flat.

  
He didn’t stop her and she merely heard him slam his door right after she slammed hers. Stupid Draco Malfoy. Being all mysterious like that. She should have known better than to think he’d spill his darkest secrets to her just because she bought him booze. But it was worth a try at least.

  
She sat back down on her sofa and just tried to get interested in a television program but she was too preoccupied with what Draco might or might not be doing. It was maddening. But soon there was a knock at her door. She got up to answer it after looking out the peephole to see Draco standing there. She opened up and stared him down.

  
“Okay, so I may have sent you off prematurely. I don’t have any glasses,” he admitted to her softly.

  
“Glasses? Just chug it out of the bottle then,” she offered as she tried to slam the door in his face, but he stopped her.

  
“Look can we have a do-over? I know I was a prat but if you want some of this whiskey, we can share. If you have glasses, that is,” he explained to her.

  
“Who doesn’t have glasses?”

  
“I don’t.”

  
“Oh right. Well come in then,” she motioned for him to come inside and sit down on her sofa.

  
Draco sat down uncomfortably on the sofa and wrung his hands nervously. He had no idea why he was inside Granger’s apartment, but part of him was dying to get his woes off his chest. It was just a pity there wasn’t anyone else more suitable to share it with. But Granger would have to do.

  
Hermione went to get glasses from the kitchen and then came back into the living room and set them down on the table.

  
“So again, I ask, why are you here?” she posed the question to him.

  
“I’m here to drink. Didn’t fancy chugging it from the bottle all by myself in a dark room. Did I mention I only have one lamp?” he sighed as he cracked open the bottle and poured himself a glass.

  
“Right. I just meant, why are you living here?” she restated the question.

  
“Oh. That. Well, it’s a long story. But the basic gist is that I got kicked out. How’s that for funny? I’m sure you and your mates will get a right chuckle out of that one,” he lamented as he took a drink.

  
“Kicked out? What did you do?” Hermione was paying rapt attention now as she poured herself a tiny sip of the drink.

  
“I didn’t do everything I was told to do,” he shrugged. “Are you really only drinking a half of a sip?” he noted the small amount she poured.

  
“Oh, I’m not much of a Firewhiskey drinker,” she admitted.

  
“Well if you want me to spill my guts, you’re gonna have to drink more. Otherwise I could just sit alone and tell the mouse my woes,” he told her with a small smirk.

  
She poured herself a little bit more to placate him, because she didn’t want him leaving. Not when she sensed there was a good story in there somewhere. She took a drink and made a face.

  
“Oh yucky. This stuff is terrible.”

  
“It numbs the pain though.”

  
“I guess. So what didn’t you do?” she asked quickly.

  
“You’re a nosy one,” he made a face at her.

  
“Well can you blame me? The great Draco Malfoy is now living in a basic flat with no glasses and only one lamp. Who wouldn’t be interested to find out how that came to be?” she insisted.

  
He sighed and ran his hands through his slightly messy hair.

  
“I didn’t want to marry this girl my father picked for me. I just don’t think that a person should be handpicked to marry you by your bloody parents. Shouldn’t I meet someone on my own that I love?” he told her.

  
“Oh, well, yeah. I agree with you. I had no idea your father would try to marry you off like it was the Dark Ages,” she commiserated with him.

  
“So here I am. My mum gave me a little money to start out with, but I’m going to need a fucking job. An actual job! Can you even believe it?” he cried unhappily.

  
“Welcome to the real world Draco. It sucks here,” she raised her glass and finished off her meager sip, while he poured more for himself.

  
“It’s been twenty four hours and so far I’m not loving this real world experience. I actually ate a pot of noodles for supper. Me! Draco Malfoy! I ate a poor persons meal,” he said sadly.

  
She looked at him and couldn’t help but laugh. She knew it wasn’t funny to him, but it was highly entertaining for her. He scowled at her.

  
“Is this funny? Am I amusing you?” he wondered.

  
“I’m sorry Draco. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just, you kind of have to admit this is funny. What a reversal of fortune. Even I don’t have to eat pot of noodles for supper,” she told him.

  
“Perfect. I bet you had steak and potatoes didn’t you? God, what I wouldn’t do for a piece of red meat right now,” he said dreamily.

  
“For your information, I had a salad. But it had chicken in it,” she relayed to him.

  
“Ugh, even a salad would be nice. I don’t understand how people do this,” he groaned.

  
“Poor Draco. Where are you going to get a job? Tesco?” she offered with a grin.

  
“Bite your tongue. No. I’m not bagging groceries like some Muggle. I was thinking of trying the shops in Diagon Alley at least. Someone there is bound to take pity on me. Maybe Flourish and Blotts?”

  
“Oh I know! How about Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes? I know they’re looking for someone,” she tossed out as she poured another tiny amount of alcohol in her glass.

  
“You’ve got to be kidding me. As if I’d work for the Weasley’s. I’ve sunk low, but not that low,” he grumbled.

  
“Suit yourself, but I bet they’d love to hire you,” she giggled, knowing Ron would have a field day if he was able to be Draco’s boss.

  
Draco just flipped her off and poured more drink into his glass. Then he grabbed her glass and filled it halfway.

  
“There, now that’s a proper drink for you,” he said, tiring of her little sips.

  
“This is the proper drink for a giant maybe. Or an alcoholic. If I drink this much, I might barf,” she turned up her nose at it.

  
“Then it’d be my turn to laugh at you. Can’t hold your liquor,” he chuckled slightly.

  
Off his laughter, Hermione wanted to prove him wrong. She didn’t want him laughing at her. Not anymore.

  
“Fine, I’ll drink this up. And more. You’ll see. I’ll drink you under the table!” she tossed out the dare.

  
“Oh please. You’re embarrassing yourself,” he laughed at her.

  
“Wanna make a bet?”

  
“A bet? What do I get if I win?” his interested was piqued.

  
“Hmm, twenty galleons!”

  
“Twenty galleons? I used to toss that away like it was nothing,” he remembered.

  
“But you have nothing now, so suddenly it’s more appealing eh?” she urged him.

  
“Fine, you’re on. Except what do you get if you win? I don’t have any money to speak of,” he added dejectedly.

  
“If I win, I get your lamp,” she said with a smile.

  
“My lamp? It cost more than twenty galleons! Plus then I’ll have no light.”

  
“Get some candles. I want the lamp when I win,” she said self-assuredly.

  
“Fine. You’re not gonna win anyway. Do you realize I am a champ at drinking whiskey? You and your thimble sized drinks tell me you’re not a champ. So obviously I’m going to be twenty galleons richer when this is all said and done,” he said smugly.

  
“We’ll see,” she said, raising her glass to him.

  
They clinked them together and the bet was on. Hermione had no idea why she was doing this except it wasn’t just Draco who got lonely sometimes. And she hadn’t seen him in years. He seemed different. Probably because he just got his riches taken away from him. But he was slightly more tolerable than he used to be. After all, he hadn’t called her a Mudblood yet and they’d interacted several times now. Maybe people changed?

  
“So what is it you do for a living, Granger?” he asked, getting slightly tipsy already.

  
“Me? I work for the Ministry,” she told him as she gulped her terrible drink in effort to win the bet.

  
“Yeah, I know. But what do you actually do?” he clarified.

  
“How’d you know I worked for the Ministry?” she wondered confusedly.

  
“I read about it in the paper years ago. But I’m just curious what you stuffed shirts actually do,” he told her.

  
“Well I’m in charge of setting up trials and such for the criminals once they’re caught.”

  
“Sounds really fucking boring. And easy. I could do that,” he said confidently.

  
“Well you can’t have my job and there are no openings that I know of. Except maybe for janitor,” she offered with a smirk.

  
“I’d rather work for the Weasley’s than be a janitor.”

  
“Perfect, then when can I tell Ron and George you’ll stop by for an application?” she teased him.

  
“Ha-ha. Very amusing. Never gonna happen.”

  
They drank silently for a short time and Hermione had to admit she was already feeling the effects of the alcohol even if she hadn’t had very much yet. She knew she was probably going to lose this bet, and that didn’t make her happy. She hated losing things. So she poured herself more and pretended she was okay. But the face she made every time she took a drink was making Draco laugh.

  
“You are not a seasoned drinker, are you?” he chuckled at her.

  
“I like wine. I rarely have the hard stuff. But I bet I could drink more wine than you!” she told him as she slapped him on the arm.

  
“Ouch! You still hit hard as ever,” he said rubbing his arm.

  
“Sorry. I don’t know my own strength sometimes,” she admitted sheepishly.

  
“Or else you meant to sock me in the arm really hard. I suppose I’d have it coming. I don’t even know why I’m here or why you’re being decent to me,” he told her with a shake of his head.

  
She shrugged.

  
“I don’t know why I’m being decent to you. You always hated me. And I hated you. I guess I was just really curious why you were here and not in your mansion.”

  
“I wish I had a better story to tell, but I just was a disobedient child apparently. I didn’t really think Father would throw me out. But he said I was spoiled and directionless and when I wouldn’t marry Astoria, he said he gave up on me.”

  
“Eh, you don’t need someone like that in your life,” she said waving her hand in the air.

  
“I suppose not, but it’s all I knew. Now I don’t have a clue what to do with myself. Talk about directionless,” he lamented.

  
“I kind of know how you feel,” she sighed and poured another glass for herself.

  
“No you don’t. When were you ever directionless?” he scoffed.

  
“After the war. I didn’t know whether to go back to school or take the job offer I had. Plus I lost my parents. I had no family to help guide me. I didn’t know what to do honestly,” she remembered sadly.

  
“What do you mean you lost your parents? Did they die?” he asked suddenly feeling bad for her.

  
“No, they were obliviated by me and I implanted false memories for them where they never had a daughter. Turns out I did a really fantastic job of it and the healers couldn’t undo my damage. So now they live in Australia and don’t know I exist. Or rather, they do know I exist, but they don’t know who I am and want nothing to do with me,” she explained.

  
He absorbed what she said and took another drink.

  
“Why’d you do that? It doesn’t make much sense,” he shook his head.

  
“I didn’t want them to be targets during the war. And I also didn’t want them to miss me if I died. But I didn’t anticipate that I’d never get them back. I didn’t know my own skill really. It was the false memories that were the kicker. I shouldn’t have done that,” she sighed and gulped her drink.

  
“I’m sorry they’re lost to you. I reckon you do understand slightly what it feels like to be thrust out on your own with nothing,” he conceded.

  
“I had Ron though. And Harry. Plus the Weasley’s and other friends. Do you still have your friends?” she wondered aloud. For some reason she was way more interested in Draco’s life than she ever imagined she’d be. But he looked so broken and helpless, that it endeared him to her.

  
“I don’t have any friends. Or anyone at all, honestly. They all hate me. The only person who wanted to be with me was Astoria, but that’s because her family made her do it. I don’t think she really liked me. Hell, I don’t really like me,” he said staring at the glass in his hand, getting lost in thought.

  
Hermione felt bad for her old childhood tormentor and she wasn’t sure why. He deserved to be knocked down a few pegs. But something about his life now made her sad. And it didn’t help that she couldn’t stop staring at his lips. She’d never noticed what a perfect little pout he had until tonight. She wondered what else those lips could do, and then she caught herself having those thoughts and realized she obviously had already drank too much.

  
“I kinda sorta like you a little,” she admitted tipsily as she refilled her glass, determined to win the bet.

  
“What? Now I know you’re drunk already,” he chuckled slightly and looked at her oddly.

  
“Did I say that out loud?” she asked shaking her head.

  
“Afraid so. But don’t worry. You’re not really as bad as I thought you’d be. God I used to hate you and all your friends,” he sighed.

  
“We hated you too.”

  
“Now look at us? Pathetic. I can’t believe I’m sitting in Granger’s flat, drinking myself into a coma while telling you my problems.” He was angry at himself for opening up to her, but right now, he needed someone. Anyone. And she was the only one there. He told himself it had nothing to do with the fact that she had gotten prettier than he remembered. But he figured that must be the whiskey talking.

  
“Are you hungry? I’m a little hungry. Want some crisps?” she asked, suddenly feeling the air between them grow thicker and she wanted a distraction.

  
“I would absolutely love some crisps honestly. The noodles didn’t really fill me up,” he admitted with a grin.

  
She got up to get the crisps and realized just how drunk she already was. There was no way she could win this bet, even eating some food to balance out the drink. But she was still determined to try. She brought the crisps back to the sofa and sat down.

  
“Oh, these are the best,” he said, digging into the bag and trying to ignore how vulnerable he was making himself in Granger’s company. He just wanted to pretend she was someone else for the night. But when she started giggling, he couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked.

  
“What’s so funny?” he asked her curiously.

  
“This. This is funny. You and me eating crisps and drinking. Plus you got crumbs all over yourself. I figured an aristocrat like you would eat less sloppily,” she told him with amusement.

  
He brushed off his shirt and gave her a look.

  
“So sue me. I’m starving! I just kind of shoveled them in my mouth,” he said defensively.

  
“Do you want anything else? I have bread to make a sandwich. I was saving it for lunch tomorrow, but if you want it, you can have it,” she offered, unsure of why she was being so accommodating.

  
“Nah, I don’t wanna eat your lunch. The crisps are fine,” he shook his head.

  
“Suit yourself.”

  
“Look, why are you being so nice to me? I’ve never been nice to you. And if all you were after was information as to why I’m here, why am I still sitting on your sofa? You got the goods. Why are you offering me food? Have I really become that pathetic?” he asked her, running his hands through his hair.

  
“I don’t know why I’m being nice. You never deserved it before. But you are a little pathetic right now. I guess I just have a soft spot for the under privileged,” she shrugged and took a gulp of her drink.

  
“Explains why you were with the Weasel, then,” he snickered.

  
She smacked his arm again and nearly knocked the drink out of his hand.

  
“Shut up! His name is Ron and that’s not why I was with him,” she said insistently.

  
“Ouch! Again with the hitting of me! You’re brutal. Is that why Ron is not here anymore? Did you keep hitting him too?” he asked rubbing the sore spot on his arm.

  
“For your information, no that is not why. We broke up. And I never hit him! You just bring it out of me,” she shrugged. “Ron and I amicably split because we just had nothing in common after the war was over.”

  
“Really? I thought you were meant to be or something? Why didn’t it work?” he asked with genuine curiosity about her life.

  
She sighed and refilled her glass.

  
“He wanted to get married and have babies, and I wasn’t ready. I’m only twenty three! I guess it just turned out that once the fighting was over, we had very little to talk about that wasn’t him trying to talk me into getting married.”

  
“I don’t really understand why everyone wants to get married so soon. I’m only twenty three too and I think it’s too soon! That’s what I kept telling my father. I’ve barely sowed my wild oats yet. Who wants to get married?” he asked gesturing wildly with his near empty glass.

  
“I’ll drink to that!” She clinked their glasses and erupted into a fit of giggles for no real reason.

  
“Why are you giggling like that? You’re gonna make me laugh and nothing is funny!” he scolded her.

  
“I have no idea why I’m laughing except the room is starting to spin. Isn’t it spinning for you?” she wondered.

  
“No, afraid not. I’m totally winning this bet. First the room spins and it’s funny. But then it keeps spinning and you puke everywhere. Mark my words. Just let me know and I’ll move out of the path,” he laughed at her.

  
“Be quiet. I’m not going to puke! I just need the room to stay still. I should eat more. Want some ice cream?” she asked as she rose from the couch and almost fell over on her way to the kitchen.

  
“I’m always up for ice cream. What kind?” he called out into the kitchen.

  
“Mint chip!”

  
“Oh man, that’s the best one!”

  
She smiled to herself and got out the container and two big spoons. She plunked it down on the coffee table and offered Draco a spoon.

  
“We’re just eating it out of the carton? No bowls?” he asked with confusion.

  
“Nope. This is how single lonely people eat ice cream. Trust me. It’s fun,” she told him, as she dug her spoon in and licked it clean.

  
He noticed her tongue and for a second he wondered what else she’d be good at licking. But he shook his head to dispel those wrong thoughts and just dug his spoon in too. But this just made Hermione notice his tongue and his lips again, and she wished her mind would stop going there. She shouldn’t be having these wrong thoughts about Draco Malfoy! But neither one of them could help it. It was the product of too much drink and loneliness on both their parts, they surmised. It’s not like they actually were attracted to one another. That would be crazy talk. After a while of eating ice cream in silence, Draco finally spoke.

  
“Thanks for this,” he said softly.

  
“For the ice cream? It’s not a big deal,” she brushed it off.

  
“I meant for all this. The company, the booze, all of it. I wager I’ll regret this in the morning, but it’s not half bad talking to you,” he explained.

  
She just looked at him and smiled slightly.

  
“You’re welcome. You’re not half bad to talk to either.”

  
“Now I know we’re both drunk,” he laughed. “So are you ready for more or are you hitting puke city soon?”

  
“I am perfectly fine,” she lied, as she held up her glass for a refill. “I’m not losing this bet. How are you feeling, Draco?”

  
“I’m peachy. I’ve almost forgotten what a shit heap my life is. It’s grand,” he smiled as he took another sip.

  
They drank in silence for a bit and the room was really spinning now for Hermione. She was enjoying it less and less but she was so competitive, she didn’t want to admit defeat. But after her last glass and one more dollop of ice cream, she felt her stomach revolt on her. She looked at Draco, then dropped her spoon, and immediately ran off to the loo. Draco just smirked as he heard her wretch in the bathroom and he realized he was now the proud new owner of twenty galleons. Not much, but it’d get him by for a day or so. He waited until Hermione came back out and she looked like death. He put his hand out for her.

  
“Give me my money,” he said proudly.

  
“Ugh. Fine. It’s in my purse,” she said miserably.

  
“Do you want me rummaging through it, or are you going to get it for me?” he wondered.

  
“I’ll get it. I don’t want you in my bloody hand bag scavenging for food or stray coins,” she made a face at him as she grabbed her purse and handed him the galleons.

  
“Thank you, m’lady. And with this, I bid you farewell as it’s late and I’m knackered,” he said with a slight yawn. “I’m taking the bottle with me,” he added, scooping it up.

  
“I don’t even wanna smell that bottle again, so please do take it. And take the ice cream too. I can’t look at it,” she said, holding her roiling stomach and making a yucky face.

  
He grabbed up the ice cream and his spoon and set off towards the door. But he looked back at a glum Hermione and grinned at her.

  
“This was fun. Next time you wanna get drunk again, you know where to find me.”

  
And with that, he was out the door, slamming it too loudly behind him. Hermione’s head was beginning to hurt already and she just laid down on the sofa and tried not to die. But a small smile crept on her face when she realized she had fun too. Even if she lost the bet. Spending an evening with Draco had been much more interesting than spending the night with her cat. And that thought had her wondering when she’d lost her mind. But Draco wasn’t really half bad if you got to know him. But she never wanted to tell anyone else that fact. This was her dirty secret. Sharing ice cream and whiskey with Malfoy was something she was never telling anyone else. She’d just tell Harry she got the information another way. She didn’t want anyone knowing she actually sort of liked Draco now. She’d take that to her grave.

 

To be continued….

Please leave comments to let me know how you like this story so far! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione continue their tentative friendship, meanwhile Draco finds a job.

The next morning Hermione woke up and felt like she had died the night before. It was not a good idea to drink copious amounts of Firewhiskey when you had to work the next day. She kept snoozing her alarm clock until the very last second and then she dragged herself out of bed. She looked in the mirror and realized she looked as bad as she felt. But as a professional woman, she rarely took sick days. In fact, she usually just powered through whatever cold or flu she had and kept on working. But she felt like she might barf again and had to run into the bathroom and empty her stomach contents, of which there wasn’t anything left. She sat on the floor of the bathroom and just laid her head against the toilet.

“I’m never doing that again,” she muttered to herself as she contemplated not going in to work today.

But she figured she had to go, so she pulled herself together and got in the shower. She hoped that would settle everything that was rumbling and make her head feel better too. Then she climbed out of the shower and quickly threw some clothes on and pulled her hair back in a wet bun. She was just getting her shoes on when she heard someone pounding on her door. She rolled her eyes and knew it could probably be only one person, but it was early and she assumed he’d be asleep. Especially with how much he drank himself. But she cautiously looked through her peephole and saw Draco standing there. He was wearing the same clothes as the night before and his hair was all messy and not polished like normal. She opened up the door.

“Can I help you?” she asked wearily.

“How are you feeling?” he wondered curiously.

“I feel like I died last night, was resurrected, killed violently again and now someone has set my reanimated corpse loose on the city,” she explained with a tiny smile.

“I suspected as much. So I brewed you this,” he said thrusting the measuring cup he’d brought over earlier, into her face. This time it was filled with a greenish liquid.

“What the hell is this?” she asked put off by the smell of the concoction.

“It’s a hangover cure. I brewed it up this morning. I’ve already had some and as you see, I’m good to go. I thought maybe you’d need some too. Afraid this was the only glass I had to put it in,” he noted the measuring cup.

She took it from him and smelled it closer and made a face.

“Is this a trick? I drink this and horns sprout from my forehead?”

“It’s not a trick. I promise. No horns,” he insisted to her.

“Remember when you made my teeth grow? This feels kinda like that. I’m gonna fall for it, and suddenly I’ll be running to St. Mungos to have my new tail removed or some such nonsense,” she laughed slightly.

“Oh please. I’m not thirteen anymore. It’s a real cure. But if you don’t want it, I’ll take it back,” he said trying to get the measuring cup out of her hands.

“No, I’ll drink it. Okay? I-I trust you,” she told him reluctantly.

“You stuttered. Which means you don’t really trust me,” he pointed out.

“I’m sorry, Draco. It’s just we have a history of not being able to stand each other. Why should I trust you?” she pointed out.

He sighed and grabbed the concoction and took a sip. Then he handed it back to her.

“There. See? Not a trick or poison or anything else. Just try it. You’ll thank me later,” he urged her.

She sighed and decided it was worth a shot. She just hoped she wouldn’t regret it. She took the measuring cup and gulped down the green liquid and made a yucky face.

“Oh my God, that’s horrible!” She wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

“I know, but in about three minutes, you’ll be feeling great. It was touch and go for me this morning, but after this, I’m good as new,” he said proudly. “I was always good at potions.”

“Well thank you for this. I appreciate you thinking of me,” she said somewhat awkwardly as she didn’t know what else to tell him.

“No worries. I just knew you had to work today. Figured you might want a pick me up,” he shrugged.

“I do feel a little better, honestly. What’s in this?” she asked as she looked at the empty measuring cup in her hands.

“A little of this, and a little of that. Plus peppermint and ginger. That’s the key. Plus it makes it slightly less disgusting to drink,” he offered with a smile.

“Yeah, well, it might need a little more of that because it really tasted awful,” she laughed slightly.

“I was running low on supplies so maybe it was a little yuckier than I intended. But look at you! The color is back in your cheeks. You don’t look like shit anymore,” he said happily.

“Thanks a lot. So I looked like shit when you saw me first?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Am I supposed to lie? You looked rough. But it’s okay now because now you look like you again. Except what’s with the old lady bun? Your hair doesn’t look good like that,” he noticed absently touching her hair.

She reached back and shooed his hand away and tried not to notice that she got tingles at his touch. Maybe there was something fishy in that drink after all? Why else would she be feeling tingly? But she chose to ignore it and face him down.

“My hair looks fine. I didn’t have time to do it so I just pulled it back. What of it?” she made a face at him.

“Oh, well I can do a mean hair taming spell. It takes thirty seconds. Just get rid of this hideous bun,” he said reaching back again and pulling her hair out of the elastic she held it back with.

“Ouch! You’re ripping my hair out!” she cried as she tried to stop him. But before she could do that properly, he pulled out his wand. “Put that away! Someone will see you! You’re in the hallway!”

“Oh. Oops. Sorry. Can I come in?” he wondered.

“Fine, fine. But please do make it snappy. I’m already late for work,” she told him.

“Right, I’ll be quick. Just hold still.”

She did as she was told and he waved his wand over her hair and she could feel it drying and curling up and smoothing itself out. When he proclaimed himself done, she looked into her mirror and was impressed.

“Damn, it looks better than when I normally do it,” she remarked.

“Told you I could tame hair. Even crazy bushy wild woman hair like yours,” he said smugly.

“Well thanks. I guess. I really have to go,” she said not understanding why Draco was helping her at all. It was weird. And she was really late.

“Okay. Enjoy your boring job. I’m about to get ready to go to Diagon Alley to see what jobs I can find. I’m sure that loads of shops are hiring. School starts again in a few months. They’re bound to need help right?” he said hopefully.

“Knock yourself out, Draco. And like I said, the Weasley’s are hiring at the joke shop. So don’t forget that,” she teased him.

“Ugh. No. Not unless it’s my very last resort and I’m fighting the mouse for food, will I ever stoop that low,” he scoffed.

“Suit yourself. But I really have to go. Thanks again for the hangover cure and for doing my hair. I feel loads better,” she smiled at him.

“Good. You look better now too. So see ya later I guess,” he said turning around and opening her door to leave. Then he turned around again. “Thanks again for last night. This was the least I could do to repay you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

And with that, he left her flat and went back to his and she just stared at the door for a moment wondering what the hell just happened. Draco was being nice for the hell of it. She didn’t tempt him with bets or liquor or even an old tin of biscuits this time. He was just being nice. Obviously he’d already lost his mind and his money. But she didn’t have time to ponder it further because she had to get to work.

Once she got there, she ran into Harry who was seemingly waiting for her. She’d forgotten to call him. But in her defense it was late and she was very drunk by the time she found out Draco’s secret. But Harry wanted the goods.

“Hermione! There you are! I was beginning to think you weren’t coming to work,” he said to her excitedly.

“No, I’m here. I just had a slow start,” she admitted.

“You look fantastic today. Did you do something different with your hair?” he asked noting how perfectly coiffed she was.

“Oh, this,” she said running her hands through it. “Yeah, Draco helped me do it this morning.”

“What? Draco? Are you girlfriends now? If so, spill everything you know! Did he paint your nails too?” Harry joked with her.

“Shut up! He did not paint my nails. And he’s not my girlfriend. And if you really must know what he’s doing in my building, he got kicked out of his house for not marrying some girl his father picked,” she explained hurriedly.

“What? Well that’s kind of anti-climactic. I was hoping for a more interesting story, like he got caught stealing or doing dark spells again or something,” Harry sighed.

“I felt kind of bad for him,” she admitted.

“How did you get him to talk?” Harry wondered.

“Oh, I just gave him a fern. Yeah, you’d be surprised what a nice plant will do for someone’s soul. He opened right up to me after that,” she lied, not wanting to tell Harry she spent the whole evening with him getting drunk and telling each other their problems.

“A fern? That’s it? Wow. You’re good at this then. I would have thought it would take a lot more to get him to talk,” he shook his head.

“Yeah, me too. But now you know the secret and I’m late for work, so I should get to my desk,” she said quickly, trying to put Harry off a little so he wouldn’t ask too many questions.

“Wait, so you gave him the fern and he talked, so why was he doing your hair this morning? Oh my God, please tell me you didn’t sleep with him,” Harry said making a face at her.

She smacked him on the arm and looked aghast.

“I most certainly did not! Why would I sleep with him? I already had the information!” she said shrilly.

“Sorry Hermione! I just didn’t know how charming you had to be. And let’s face it, if you got him into bed, he might talk,” Harry surmised.

“This is Draco Malfoy we’re talking about. I do not sleep with Draco Malfoy. Not even to get information! I’m not that dedicated of a spy. Trust me. Now I really have to go,” she said turning on her heel and making her way to her office.

She wasn’t sure why she was so disgusted by the thought of sleeping with Draco, except that it momentarily excited her to think of, so that meant she had to overcompensate by telling Harry how horrible that would be. But in the dusty corners of her mind, she’d already thought of it. And not so she could get information out of him, but because she wanted him. Just a little. But it was enough to make her blush and run away from Harry as fast as she could. Once she got to her desk she held her head in her hands and tried to dispel any and all lusty thoughts out of her head. No good could come of it.

For his part, Draco was dutifully going to all the shops in Diagon Alley and asking if they were hiring. He’d gotten some seriously interesting looks from several of the owners who recognized him and were highly curious why a Malfoy needed a job. And other people were still angry at him and his entire family for their role in the war. Draco was not having any luck. In fact the owner of Flourish and Blotts said to come back when pigs started flying, so he was pretty sure he didn’t get that job. How could this really be that hard? People got jobs all the time. He figured he’d land the first place he tried. But no one had an opening or else they made it clear they’d never hire him for who he was. He stood outside and stared up at the joke shop and thought it was ridiculously garish and beneath him. He wouldn’t even shop there, much less work there. But it was the only place he didn’t try. But he still couldn’t stoop that low. They’d never hire him anyway, he surmised. They hated him more than the other shopkeepers did. So he packed it in and decided to go home. He’d try again later.

But on his way home he saw there was a sign in the window of the ice cream shop at the edge of Diagon Alley. He hadn’t tried there. Mostly because it was such a lowly job that only teenagers usually worked there. But he was getting pretty desperate, so he walked inside. He found the employee behind the counter wearing a bright pink hat and polka dot shirt and he cringed inwardly. How could he ever wear that outfit? He’d sooner die. And he turned around to leave just when the owner came out and noticed he was there.

“Can we help you?” he asked politely, noting Draco came in but didn’t order anything before he tried to leave.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Thanks,” he said, trying to leave the shop again.

“Aren’t you the Malfoy’s son?” he asked giving Draco a once over.

“If I say yes, does that mean I get to leave?” he wondered.

The man chuckled slightly.

“You want ice cream or what? I remember when you used to come in here with your family when you were just a slip of a thing. Always wanted one of every flavor. I never forget a spoiled child like that,” the owner sighed.

“You remember me?” Draco was shocked.

“Afraid so. Hopefully you grew up to be less spoiled, young man.”

Draco just sighed and realized he hadn’t grown up any differently. Except now he couldn’t be spoiled because there was no one to spoil him. He just looked at the man for a moment before he spoke.

“If you must know, I’m looking for a job. I saw your sign. But then I saw the get up you make your employees wear and I thought better of it,” he admitted.

The man laughed.

“Don’t fancy polka dots?”

“Not especially.”

“You want a job? I’ll give you a job. In fact it would tickle me pink to see you in polka dots. I’m sure your father would love to see it too,” he chuckled.

“My father is no longer in my life, if you must know. And are you sure I couldn’t just wear black to scoop ice cream? It’s really a much better color for me,” Draco told him.

“No, this is the uniform. Take it or leave it. You don’t mind wearing it, now do you Frank?” he asked the employee standing next to him who looked about fifteen.

“Uh, sir, it’s fine, sir,” Frank told him.

“Do I have to call you sir too?” Draco wondered.

“No, but it’ll get you on my good side if you do!” the man said with a chuckle.

Draco weighed his options. He still had most of the twenty galleons left than Hermione gave him, save for the cup of coffee and a donut he’d purchased for breakfast. But it wasn’t going to last him long. And his mum’s money had already run out with all the costs of moving his stuff and paying rent and deposits. He had very little choice but to get money coming in somehow. This was by far the worst day of his life though. But he nodded and sighed and looked at the owner.

“Sir, I would like a job please,” he managed to squeak out though it pained him to do so.

And this was the beginning of the end for Draco, he realized. He was now an ice cream scooper in an ugly polka dot shirt and a pink hat. This had become his life. He just never wanted anyone to find out. He hoped no one he knew ever came into the shop. He’d be humiliated beyond belief. But beggars couldn’t be choosers, after all. So he took the job.

When Hermione got home later that night, she looked at Draco’s door and contemplated knocking just to see how his day went. But then she realized they weren’t actually friends, and why should she care how his day was? Except she did sorta care and wondered if he got a job. But she thought better of knocking and simply went inside her flat and tried to pretend Draco didn’t exist over there. But he didn’t make that easy when he came knocking at her door a little later on. She heard the knock and got up to investigate and tried not to notice her heart skip a beat when she saw that it was Draco outside. She opened the door and smiled at him.

“Hey. What’s up?” she asked trying to be casual.

“I brought you this,” he said holding up a bottle of wine. “It only cost me three pounds at the corner mart. I’m sure it’s shitty, but it’s to celebrate my new job,” he told her proudly.

“You got a job? Really? Already?” She motioned for him to come inside.

“Yeah, it’s not much. Just working at Flourish and Blotts. They were extremely excited to have me, I must say. And I figured since you brought me whiskey, the least I could do is bring you some wine,” he smiled at her.

“Well thank you. But I don’t think I wanna drink any alcohol tonight. Not after last night. But I do appreciate it,” she said taking the cheap bottle from his hands.

“Oh well, could drink something else. Like tea or coffee? Unless you want me to leave?” he asked, suddenly feeling like maybe she didn’t really want him there.

“No, you don’t have to leave. I was just making supper. Wanna join me?” she offered.

“What are we having?” he asked eagerly, not having eaten anything but a donut all day long.

“I was just making spaghetti. Nothing special. But you’re welcome to join. I always make too much for one person,” she told him.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Did you want coffee or tea first? I could make some,” she said as she put the wine in the kitchen.

“I’d rather have the wine. I know I said it was for you, but I kinda thought we’d share it again,” he said softly.

She thought about it for a moment, then she decided to crack it open.

“Maybe I’ll just have one glass. No bets this time! You are the drinking king. I bow before you,” she joked with him.

“Told ya I was. But it was kind of cute how you tried to keep up with me last night. At least until you puked. Then it was less cute and more gross,” he said thoughtfully.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“So I can’t hold Firewhiskey. I never puke with wine. Besides I’m not drinking but a glass.”

“Suit yourself. I’m kind of interested in what a three pound bottle of wine tastes like,” he said as he got comfortable on her sofa.

“I’ve had one before and it’s not that good. But it’s still wine,” she chuckled as he handed him a glass and took one for herself and waited for her sauce to simmer a little bit before making the noodles.

He took a sip and made a face.

“Oh yuck. It’s sort of like someone pissed in a vat of grape juice and stuck a cork in it,” he laughed.

“It’s not that bad! I’ll drink it,” she shrugged.

“I guess I’m just used to bottles of wine that cost as much as my flat does per month. I’m still getting used to how to how the other half lives.”

“Well tell me about the new job. What do you have to do?” she asked, tucking her legs underneath herself next to Draco on the sofa.

“I haven’t started yet. I start tomorrow. I suspect I’ll be running the place in no time,” he lied. He just couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth. It was too embarrassing.

“I’ll have to stop in sometime and say hi,” she smiled at him.

“No! Don’t do that. I can’t have you distracting me away from my real customers!” he said frantically.

“Geez, calm down. It’s not like I’m going there to mess things up for you. And I am a real customer! There are some books I need to get for work,” she told him.

“Well still, don’t come by. Shop someplace else. You’ll distract me,” he tried to put her off.

“God, you’re so weird sometimes. So what if I go to your shop? If it makes you happier, I’ll pretend I don’t know you,” she offered to him.

“Look Granger, just don’t come to my place of business. I’m still new. I just want to make a good impression. Give me more time, alright?” he pleaded with her.

She held up her hands.

“Okay, okay. I won’t visit your work. But eventually I will have to go there. They have the books I need,” she reminded him.

“Well maybe you can give me money and I’ll just bring them home with me? Sound good?” he told her. Anything to keep her out of Diagon Alley and possibly seeing where he really worked.

“Alright. If it’s not too much trouble. I’ll make a list for you later,” she said with a shrug. She didn’t know why he was being so strange about it all, but it would save her a trip.

They sat in silence for a little bit and the air was getting thick around them again. And this time no one was drunk. The little sips they took of the cheap wine weren’t even registering with them, and yet they were still having wayward thoughts. Hermione couldn’t take it anymore. She put her glass down and stood up.

“I think it’s time for me to cook the noodles,” she announced, heading for the kitchen.

Draco put his glass down and followed her in there.

“It smells really good. Are you a good cook? My house elves were excellent cooks. God, I miss them. Especially Tilda. She always gave me extra cakes when my parents weren’t looking,” he said wistfully.

“Well I’m no house elf, but my mom taught me to make this. I think it’s pretty good,” she said hoping he’d like it.

“What do you have to do now to cook noodles?” he asked curiously.

“You don’t know how to make spaghetti noodles?” she raised her eyebrow at him.

“Is it the same as the pot of noodles? Do you just pour some water over them and wait?” he scratched his head.

“Oh Draco, you’re such a blank slate,” she chuckled to herself. “But no, first you boil the water, then add noodles, then wait, then strain them with this thingy,” she held up her colander.

“Can I try it?” he asked excitedly. He wanted to learn to fend for himself properly, just to prove he could.

“Sure, you can try it,” she giggled slightly.

This just resulted in him filling the pot too full and dumping in the noodles before it had a chance to boil. He looked at the noodles sticking out of the pot and nothing was happening.

“What did I do wrong?” he asked her with irritation at himself for getting it wrong.

“Draco, you didn’t wait for the water to boil. Also, that’s way too much pasta. And the water is overflowing too,” she said, trying to fix the mess he’d made.

“I guess I got over eager. Sorry. This is hard!” he noted.

“Think of it like making a potion okay? Cooking is really just like potions class. There are steps to follow and ingredients to add, and you can’t do it at the wrong time or you get death soup,” she explained.

“Like potions. You’re right. It sort of is like potions. And I’m damn good at that. Right? I mean, I helped you this morning and I didn’t even have to,” he said, wanting a little more praise than she’d already given him earlier.

“Yes, you did help me. For reasons I still don’t understand, I might add. But just watch me and learn,” she said as she took the uncooked pasta out of the water and set it aside before dumping out a large portion of the water.

She got things back on track and Draco just wished he could take notes. At least in potions class he had notes and a book. Maybe he needed a cook book? Except those cost money and he didn’t have any just yet. But one day maybe he’d buy a cookbook.

“Alright, the water is boiling now, so what do you do Draco?” she asked trying to teach him.

“I take another drink and do a little dance?” he joked with her.

“Will you be serious? Put the pasta back in!” she scolded him and tried not to laugh. The image of Draco doing a little dance had her wanting to erupt into giggles, but she contained herself.

He dumped the pasta back in and she handed him a large fork to stir them up with. He did as told and watched as the noodles got squishy and started bubbling away in the pot.

“That wasn’t really so hard. I could do that,” he said to more to himself than to her. “Now what? How long do we wait?”

“Nine minutes or so. I’ll set a timer. You don’t want them to be too mushy, but you also don’t want them crunchy still,” she explained.

“Okay. I can wait nine minutes. You want more wine?” he asked her noting her glass was nearly empty.

She picked it up and thought better of having more, but she just stuck the glass out anyway.

“Fill me up,” she said with a grin.

“I knew I could get you to drink more than just one,” he muttered with a half-smile.

“It’s cheap wine. Barely any alcohol. I reckon you’d need about four of these bottles to have any effect on you,” she teased.

“Maybe? But I’ll make due with this for now.”

They went back to the sofa and this time Crookshanks was sitting in Draco’s spot.

“Your cat is in my spot.”

“So? Move him.”

“Then I’d have to pick him up. What if he bites me or scratches me?” he asked, uncomfortable around things with teeth and sharp claws.

“You really are a sissy, Draco. I mean, first the mouse made you scream. And now you’re afraid of my cat?” she gave him a look.

“I’m not afraid of it! I just don’t like cats. They never like me either. And yours looks mean,” he explained.

“He’s not mean. That’s just the way his face looks. Here, I’ll move him,” she sighed as she picked up her cat and tossed him onto the floor where he ran off.

“That’s better,” Draco said, brushing away cat fur before he sat back down again. “He needs to not sit in my spot.”

“Your spot? Since when does Draco Malfoy have a spot on my sofa? It’s Crookshanks spot! He just lets you sit there,” she said with righteous indignation.

“Please, you’d rather it be me sitting there than a cat, right?” he scoffed.

“I’m pretty partial to my cat…” she said sounding aloof.

“I can leave then.”

“Go ahead. Then you won’t get supper,” she pointed out.

“True. I need something to eat. But still, it’s my spot now, so there,” he said sticking his tongue out at her.

She started laughing and couldn’t stop. Draco was such a spoiled little brat. But his fish out of water antics were the best things to happen to Hermione in a long time. She felt like she owed it to mankind to help Draco wade through it all. But in actuality she had little to no reason to even speak to him, much less help him. And yet, here they were. And Draco had already claimed a spot on her sofa. What was the world coming to?

Once the timer went off, Hermione and Draco went to the kitchen and she let him watch her dump the pot out. Then she let him have first serving of the meal. He piled his plate so high, Hermione almost thought she was with Ron again. She had to make a remark.

“Wow, you must be incredibly famished. Or pregnant. It looks like you’re eating for two,” she ribbed him.

“Be quiet. All I’ve eaten today was a stale donut. This is heavenly,” he said as he took a bite and relished it going down. It was the first real food he’d had in several days.

She joined him in eating but she had a much smaller portion to contend with. But Draco had no trouble finishing it all.

“That was great. I loved the mushrooms. Plus it was a little spicy and sweet at the same time. Excellent,” he complimented her.

“Have I knocked myself unconscious and am dreaming this? Did Draco Malfoy just tell me my cooking was excellent?” she asked with open mouthed shock.

“Don’t go getting all big headed about it. Right now I’d probably think an old tire tasted like caviar. I was that hungry,” he laughed slightly.

“Well then you’ll enjoy dessert. I prepared a lovely old tire for your pleasure,” she joked.

“Ha-ha. What is for dessert? I could eat more,” he told her eagerly.

“I’m afraid I don’t have a dessert. I gave you my ice cream. Oh wait, I do have those biscuits in the tin!” she remembered.

“Ugh, those biscuits? Everyone always gives those biscuits at Christmas. Have you had them for half a year?” he asked distastefully.

“Hey, they don’t go bad! They haven’t been opened. And so what if someone gave them to me for Christmas? They’re delicious!” she said defensively.

“If they’re so fucking delicious, then why haven’t you eaten them before now?” he raised his eyebrow at her.

“Okay true. You got me there. But they aren’t that bad. If you’re really still hungry, there’s more pasta,” she pointed out.

“I think I’ll just wait a bit. My eyes are bigger than my stomach right now. Even the biscuits don’t sound bad, honestly. But I’m probably fuller than I think I am. I just keep daydreaming of food. It’s embarrassing really,” he admitted with a sigh.

“You’ve just never known what it’s like to go hungry. It’s understandable. I still can’t believe your father kicked you out. And your mum! I can’t believe she let him do it,” she said shaking her head.

“Me neither! At first she said no way was I getting tossed on the street, but when my dad said she could give me startup money, she suddenly changed her tune and said it’d be good for me. Good for me! Like how is starving to death a good thing?” he asked heatedly.

“It’s not. I’ve been lucky enough to not really know what it’s like too much. Except for when I was on the run with Harry and Ron. Then we ate nothing. Mushrooms and stick soup. It was a dark time. I was so excited to eat a pizza after all was said and done,” she recalled.

“I never really went hungry at all. Even in the darkest of times with Voldemort in our house, we all sat down to big meals and hatched evil plans. Of course, at that time, I was so scared shitless I barely ate anything. But the food was there,” he remembered not so fondly.

“What was that like? With Voldemort in your bloody house? I don’t know how you did it, Draco,” she said shaking her head and finishing off her wine.

“It wasn’t fun. I was very quiet and only spoke when spoken to. And when I was spoken to, I never much liked the things that were said. God, it was awful,” he said as he finished off his wine too.

“You know, I never blamed you for what happened. Not really. I could tell you didn’t want any of that to happen. And the Dark Mark…” she trailed off.

“Yeah, this old thing?” he asked as he pulled his sleeve up. “I’m stuck with this forever. And I never even wanted it in the first place. Now I look like my father.”

“You’re nothing like your father though. And that’s a good thing. You were like him for a little while, but I like you much better like this,” she admitted sheepishly.

“Really? So you like penniless beggar Draco rather than snobby, I’m too good for you, Draco?” he asked quietly.

“Who wouldn’t? You used to be dreadful. And now?”

“Now, what? What am I like now?” he wondered curiously.

“I don’t know. Better. Funnier. Not so bad,” she told him softly, deliberately leaving out the parts where she found him insanely attractive and his cluelessness about life made him even more endearing. She didn’t want him to know that at all.

“You know, you’re funnier and not so bad too. I know I gave you a lot of shit in school but you’re pretty okay for a—“

“For a what? A Mudblood? Is that what you were going to call me?” she asked getting prematurely upset.

“Relax Granger. I wasn’t gonna call you that. I was gonna say, ‘for a girl’. I’ve never known girls to be funny before. At least not around me. They always tripped over themselves to get into my pants or my wallet or both. You’re different. It’s like you don’t even care to impress me, which in turn impresses me. It’s a vicious cycle,” he clarified.

He wished she didn’t impress him so much, because then he could go back to wallowing alone in his new flat with his mouse and sad music to keep him company. But now he found himself actually wanting to spend time with Hermione, and not just because she kept feeding him. Although that was a bonus. He found himself enjoying her company a lot. And why didn’t he ever notice how beautiful she was before? He used to just make fun of her and not really see her. But now he saw her. And he was embarrassed how much he liked what he saw.

“I think we need more wine. Is there any left?” Hermione asked, noticing that the conversation was getting a little too cozy for her comfort. They were talking about how they felt and she did not want to get carried away. She barely knew him! Any and all wrong thoughts she had were purely the product of not having had a date in six months. At least that’s what she told herself.

“There’s enough for one glass, or two halves if we share. Damn, you don’t get a lot for three pounds,” he noted jiggling the nearly empty bottle.

He poured what was left and just looked at Hermione. Her hair still looked perfect from when he did it for her in the morning, and her cute little smile was making him want to smile, even amidst the shit heap his life was now. He knew if he told her his real new job, she’d make fun of him endlessly and probably never respect him. He wanted to be respected and also for her to be proud of his achievements. Except working at Scoopy’s Ice Cream Parlor was not much of an achievement. He found himself wanting to impress her and he didn’t really know why it mattered. She was no one to him. Except for right now, she was the only person in the world who would talk to him. That meant something. He just didn’t know what yet.

“So, you date a lot?” he tossed out just to break the silence and to jar himself from the thoughts he was having. Except asking her this was part of his insane curiosity about her love life and if she had one at all. He was already jealous and she hadn’t even answered the question yet.

“Um, define a lot,” she said looking down at her hands and away from him.

“Like at all?”

“Do you date?”

“I was recently slightly betrothed unofficially to some bird I barely knew, so yeah, I kind of date. Sometimes.”

“Oh, well I wasn’t recently unofficially betrothed but I did get a cup of a coffee with a bloke from work,” she told him, hoping she didn’t sound too pathetic, or too disappointed to realize Draco probably was going to find another girl to keep him company. And she didn’t like that idea very much. But she also knew it wasn’t her business.

“You had coffee with a bloke? How’d that go?” he asked stiffly, trying to be cool.

“It was okay. He ordered decaf though and I knew it’d never work out. I can’t be with a man who doesn’t enjoy some caffeine once in a while,” she admitted with a small grin.

“I love coffee. Maybe more than I love tea? But it’s a close one. They’re both great. And caffeine is the best part,” he grinned.

“Do you take milk in your tea?”

“No, I never liked that. I just put in a shit ton of sugar. My mum always got on my case about it. But now I can drink it how I like it,” he shrugged.

“Just out of curiosity, the other day when you had tea, but had no glasses, what were you drinking out of?” she inquired nosily.

He laughed and shook his head.

“You’ll think I’m insane.”

“I already do. So just tell me!”

“Okay, so you said to make the mouse into a teacup right? So I did. It’s on my kitchen counter as we speak,” he said covering his face at how low he’d sunk.

“Oh my God, you drank out of your mouse?” she asked with wide eyes.

“What else was I supposed to do? It wouldn’t go away and I wanted tea!” he said defensively.

She started laughing and she couldn’t stop. Draco was just the funniest person she’d ever met, and he wasn’t even trying to be funny. Who did something like that? Her laughter was contagious because soon he was laughing too, and he knew it was at his expense, but he didn’t care. Hearing Hermione laugh was the one bright spot in his life right now. And even though his life was falling to pieces, he actually felt happy in her presence. He didn’t know what to make of it, so he just enjoyed it. But he feared he was getting in over his head already. He was starting to fall for her and that could never happen. Except that it was happening. And right now, he didn’t care to stop it.

 

To be continued…..

Thanks for the comments everyone! I’m glad you’re enjoying this. Keep the comments coming! It helps me write faster. I hope you continue to enjoy this tale!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco finds his new job hellish, and he and Hermione grow ever closer.

The next day was Draco’s first day of work and he was insanely nervous. He figured the job itself would be easy, but he didn’t really fancy speaking to customers or acting like they were better than him because he worked at Scoopy’s. Basically he remembered how he treated people like that and he didn’t want a dose of his own medicine. But he supposed karma was a bitch. He did not put on the outfit though until he got to the shop. He couldn’t risk anyone seeing him walk around like that, especially people like Hermione. He had to keep this under wraps. So he discreetly went into the bathroom and changed out of his normal clothes and into the bright polka dot shirt and put on the bright pink visor hat and deliberately tried to avoid seeing himself in a mirror. But to no avail he caught sight of a buffoon in a pink hat and instinctively looked over until he realized it was a mirror and that he was the buffoon. That had stung a little. But he trekked out into the shop and saw the same kid from the day before just standing there twiddling his thumbs. Draco almost said something to him about wasting company time and how he was sure he could find something for him to do, until he realized soon it would be him standing there twiddling his thumbs and he didn’t want to be told what to do. So he stayed silent. Frank had the right idea. Might as well just stand there instead of killing yourself trying to find busy work. He hoped that’s all his day consisted of actually.

But the owner came into the room from the kitchen area and laughed when he saw Draco standing there. He’d never liked the boy and it was justice for him to see him looking so ridiculous. That was the only reason he gave him the job. That, and he wanted to be able to order him around too. That was the bonus of owning your own business. He didn’t much like Draco, and he wondered how long he’d actually last.

Draco saw the owner laughing at him and he just closed his eyes and sighed. This was the stupid get up that the man chose himself! Why was he laughing at it? Draco just supposed he enjoyed watching a Malfoy debase himself in such a way. But he wasn’t going to let the man get to him.

“So I’m here and I’m dressed. Ready to report for duty. What do I do now?” Draco asked, choosing to ignore the laughter.

The owner composed himself and wiped his eyes with a hanky.

“Where to even start. How about you watch Frank a little and then just do what he does. And remember to always smile! And say ‘Welcome to Scoopy’s! How may I serve you!’ when a customer comes in,” he explained.

“But Frank here just stands around a lot. And he didn’t welcome me yesterday,” Draco pointed out.

“Shh, will you be quiet? You’ll get me into trouble!” Frank said under his breath.

“Both of you will stay busy today. Remember, if you have time to lean, you have time to clean!” And with that, he walked back into the kitchen area and left the two of them alone.

Draco turned to his co-worker.

“So really what do you do all day? You look bored as shit,” he remarked.

“Oh I am. This job sucks. But wait until the customers come in. You’ve never known murderous rage until some fuckwit comes in wanting to try one of every flavor, and then they don’t buy anything,” Frank told him with a nod.

“We have to give samples?”

“Yep. And we’re not allowed to get upset or call people names like fatass and dipshit, no matter how much they eat or how rude they are. You’re gonna love it,” he laughed slightly and patted Draco on the back.

Draco realized this job sounded like hell on earth. And he’d never actually scooped ice cream before. It was always done for him. But seriously, how hard could that be? When Draco got his first round of customers, he soon found out just how hard it could be.

“I’m sorry, you wanted the chocolate toffee with sprinkles?” he asked the teenage boy who was there with his family.

“No, I wanted the chocolate truffle with jelly beans on top,” he clarified.

“Then who the hell wanted the sprinkles? And really, jelly beans on a chocolate ice cream? That doesn’t pair well together,” Draco offered up his own two cents.

“Listen no one ordered sprinkles. So you can just throw that one away. I want my jelly beans and the right ice cream!”

“Fine, fine. Who ordered the vanilla bean with bananas?” he called out to the group of people.

“Bananas? I think you mean a banana split. And that was me,” the father of the group spoke up.

“Frank, how do you make a banana split?” Draco asked, but he was too busy scooping and helping people to listen to Draco, so he just ignored him. “Fine, I’ll figure it out,” Draco grumbled.

He put ice cream into the dish and just piled bananas and cherries and lots and lots of whipped cream on top and threw on sprinkles. He handed it to the man.

“This isn’t what I ordered. Where’s the chocolate sauce? And I don’t want sprinkles!” the man complained.

“Yeah, and I’m still waiting on my order,” the teenager told him.

Draco realized he was in hell. He was sweating profusely and could feel all eyes on him and he had no idea what to do. He couldn’t keep any of the orders straight and he didn’t know how to make half the items on the menu. He was exasperated. Frank just kept working and ignoring Draco, part of him excited to see his new co-worker fail. But mostly he was just concentrating on getting the customers out of the shop. And Draco wanted this too, but there were no directions on how to make banana split. So he made the hideous jelly bean concoction and then he poured chocolate sauce on the sad banana split he already made and just handed it all over. No one was that pleased with their order from him, and he’d forgotten the small child who was waiting for his order that Draco couldn’t remember now. He leaned over the counter slightly and figured the little guy wasn’t so tough.

“So what did you say you wanted again?” he asked the little boy.

“I said I wanted a triple chocolate volcano with extra whipped cream,” the little boy said to him.

“A triple chocolate volcano? What is that?” he looked at Frank.

“It’s all the different chocolate ice creams, plus chocolate sauce. A lot of chocolate sauce,” Frank told him quickly.

“I can do that,” Draco said to himself, but silently wondered why they were letting this little boy eat such a terrible dessert. He should be eating fruit or something instead as he was a bit portly. But Draco kept his mouth shut and just did his best. But he forgot the whipped cream.

“I said extra whipped cream! This has none! Mummy! Daddy! He didn’t do it right!” the little boy complained.

“Like you need extra whipped cream as it is,” Draco mumbled, trying to snatch the dessert back.

“What did you say about my boy?” the father asked Draco crossly.

“Nothing. I just said of course he wanted extra whipped cream. My bad,” he sighed and squirted it on from the can.

“That’s what I thought you said. Don’t be making an issue of my boys weight. He’s big boned! He’ll kick your puny ass someday and he’s only nine!” The father bellowed at him.

Draco just gave him a look and handed over the dessert once again. He wanted so badly to say something else rude, but he held his tongue. And thankfully the family paid and left to go sit outside with their treats. Draco let out a breath.

“Oh my God, how do you do this? That was dreadful!” Draco said to Frank.

“Believe me, it can get a lot worse. You’d do well to read the handbook over there to see what desserts we offer. Memorize it,” Frank said pointing to a large book on the back counter.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. That book is like a thousand pages. How many fucking desserts do we serve? I thought I’d just be making ice cream cones for five year olds!” Draco cried.

“There’s that too. Which by the way, you’re doing those wrong too. You’re putting on a scoop and a half and not a single scoop. Mr. Cox will not be happy when his inventory runs low because of it,” Frank shook his head.

“Mr. Cox? That’s his name? Suits him. It’s more like Mr. Cock face,” Draco grumbled.

“What did you call me, boy?” Mr. Cox asked as he emerged just in time to hear Draco insult him.

“Uh, nothing. I was just talking to myself,” Draco tried to save face.

“Why don’t you take out the rubbish? The bin is out back,” he said gesturing to the overflowing garbage in the shop.

Draco just sighed and did what he was told. Much as it pained him to do. He was now handling sticky rubbish with ice cream melting all over his shoes. He was never going to survive. He’d only been working there for less than two hours and already he wanted to quit. But he just kept thinking of everything he needed to pay for and buy and he knew he had to stick it out. But it was not proving to be easy.

When his day was finally done, he went back to the bathroom to change his clothes. Thank God no one he knew came into the shop today. But he wondered how long he could keep the job secret. Forever, he hoped. At least until he could get a job someplace else. Which he wasn’t sure where that would be yet, but he hadn’t given up hope for something better. But for now, he shoved his polka dot shirt in the bag along with his stupid pink hat and decided to trudge on home.

He got to his building and walked up the stairs. Hermione warned him the lift got stuck occasionally and he didn’t feel like being trapped as the topper to his day. So the three story walk up was more appealing. Even if his feet were killing him. How could they hurt so bad just standing in one spot all day long? He didn’t get it. But he thought he might need some better shoes. Trainers. Something more comfortable than his leather loafers. They were really more for sitting in a lounge sipping cognac than to be scooping ice cream all day. But he ran into Hermione who was just looking through her mail while fumbling with her keys. He smiled when he saw her.

“Hey there,” he said happily.

“Hey yourself. So how was work? Was it great?” she asked curiously, knowing it was his first day at Flourish and Blotts.

“It was pretty fantastic actually. I think I’ll be in line for a promotion to store manager in no time,” he lied to her.

“Wow, you must have really impressed them, then. Good for you,” she patted him on the back. Then she noticed his shoes. “Draco, why is there ice cream on your shoes?”

He looked down and noticed he had globs of old ice cream melted onto his best shoes. He sighed and looked at Hermione.

“Uh, some kid dropped their sundae on my shoes. Terrible thing. I was right pissed. But what can you do eh?” he shrugged.

“That sucks. Well, I guess I better get in my place now. Crookshanks is waiting to eat and so am I.”

“Oh, yeah. I need to eat something too. Except I still don’t really have anything yet. But if I give you eight galleons will you feed me and rub my feet?” he asked hopefully, feeling his feet throbbing underneath him.

“What?” she laughed heartily. “You want to pay me to rub your feet? Do I look like a masseuse? I don’t rub feet unless your my boyfriend.”

“Oh come on. Please? Eight galleons! And you don’t even have to feed me. Just my feet are killing me. These shoes are not that comfortable to stand in all day,” he pleaded with her.

“Do your feet smell bad?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No! My feet are clean. I do bathe,” he scoffed.

“Yeah, but you’ve been on them all day in tight shoes. I swear if they stink, I’m not touching them,” she relented with a sigh.

“Deal. So you’ll do it then?” he asked hopefully.

“I think I’m brain damaged, but okay. But you have to rub mine too! I wore heels all day,” she remarked pointing to her shoes.

“Yes, but you sit behind a desk all day. How bad could they hurt?” he wondered.

“That’s the deal. I want the money and the reciprocal foot rub, or no dice,” she said with her arms crossed.

“Alright, deal. Let me just put my bag in my apartment and I’ll be right over,” he smiled at her.

She just nodded and went inside her flat and left the door cracked for Draco to come back in. She kicked off her shoes and realized her feet were a little tired, even if all she did was sit most of the day. And then she went to the kitchen to get out her meager supper that she was now sharing with Draco. Lean Cuisine. She hoped he was interested in watching his girlish figure. Otherwise he was going to hate this. She wondered if he’d ever eaten a frozen lasagna before. Probably not. But then she was just wondering when she’d lost her mind to offer to rub his feet. Sure, he was paying her, but still. She didn’t wanna let him know she’d do it for free just because she felt bad for him. But she popped the frozen dinners in the microwave and sat down on her sofa and petted her cat as she waited for Draco to come back.

It didn’t take him long to return and he just pushed the door open and came inside. Again the cat was in his spot and he got a pouty face.

“Crookshanks is in my spot again,” he told her unhappily.

“I told you it’s not your spot, it’s his. Ask him nicely to leave though and you can sit down,” she grinned at him.

“I have to talk to it? Like it’s real?” he asked with some confusion.

“Like it’s real? Of course it’s real! It’s a fucking cat, Draco. Not a couch pillow. Didn’t you ever have a pet growing up?” she wondered.

He shrugged. “We had dogs. They’re different. They listen to you and do stuff you ask them to do. Cats don’t listen. They act like they’re better than you, when all they are is a cat!”

“I’m not rubbing your feet until you ask Crookshanks nicely to move,” she crossed her arms and waited for him to charm her cat.

“Fine,” he sighed and bent down to the cat. “Crookshanks? It’s time for you to move. Draco is sitting down now.”

The cat just looked at him and yawned. It didn’t budge.

“Oh for fuck’s sake. Move it, cat! This is where I sit now!” he said getting right into Crookshanks face.

Crookshanks just looked at him again, then he stood up and stretched and jumped off the sofa. He walked away with his tail in the air and Draco looked at Hermione smugly.

“See? I could do it. He doesn’t want me to talk to him nicely. He needs a firm command. You’re too soft on him. Spoil him rotten,” he said as he sat down in his favorite cat free spot.

“You’re one to talk about being spoiled rotten. Takes one to know one,” she said with her nose in the air.

“So what are we eating? I can smell something cooking,” he said, choosing to ignore her spoiled rotten comment. He used to be spoiled rotten but not anymore.

“We’re having lasagna,” she announced.

“Lasagna? Yummy. You had time to make a lasagna?”

“It’s Lean Cuisine.”

“What?”

“It’s frozen. I just have to heat it up. And bonus, it only has four hundred calories in it so you can keep your girlish figure,” she giggled at him.

“We’re eating diet food? Why on earth do you have diet food? You’re not fat,” he said confusedly.

“Maybe the reason I’m not fat is that I eat Lean Cuisine several times a week?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“So is this food actually good?”

“It’s alright. To be quite honest, it’s mediocre at best. But it’s quick and easy. I get tired from working and don’t always feel like making a proper supper,” she explained.

Just then the microwave dinged and she got up to retrieve their food. She stuck a fork in Draco’s dish and walked back into the living room with the supper.

“Here you go,” she handed it to him.

He looked at it and noted it was mostly just a pile of mush with some tomato sauce over it. The cheese didn’t even look real. Plus there was some kind of shriveled up looking vegetables next to it. He looked at Hermione.

“I’m really supposed to eat this?” he asked picking at it.

“Yes, it’s better than it looks. But I never eat the vegetables. Too soggy,” she said, pushing them aside and digging into the meager portion of pasta.

“I could probably eat five of these, you know,” he said, digging in alongside her.

“Honestly, so could I,” she giggled and kept eating.

It only took three bites for Draco to be done and then he put the dish on the coffee table.

“Well that’s that. It tasted like an old rubber boot with some cheese and sauce on it,” he remarked.

“Noodles don’t always microwave that well. They get rubbery,” she admitted.

“So is it time for my foot rub?” he asked eagerly.

“I’m not done eating! Give me a minute. And I hope you’re ready to rub my feet too,” she reminded him.

“Not a problem. This is like team work eh? You do something for me, and I do something for you. It’s a novel idea.”

She just looked at him and shook her head.

“It’s actually called friendship. That’s what you do when you’re friends with someone,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but I’m paying you,” he jostled her memory.

“True. But it’s still friendship. See, I fed you so you do something for me. And you’re paying me. It all works out,” she smiled.

“Does Harry pay you to rub his feet?” Draco wondered curiously.

“Um, no. If Harry needs his feet rubbed, Ginny can do that. She’s his girlfriend,” she remarked absently.

“So if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t have to pay anyone?”

“That’s the general idea, yeah.”

“I need a girlfriend. Only not one my parents chose for me!”

“You got that right.”

“So did the Weasel rub your feet?” he asked tentatively.

She sighed again.

“His name is Ron, and not really. Sometimes. Maybe. But mostly it was just me giving him back rubs while he fell asleep,” she lamented.

“I promise I won’t fall asleep,” Draco assured her. “Now are you almost done eating?”

“I’m done, I’m done. Let me just put the containers in the rubbish bin.”

She stood up and put the old food containers in the trash and threw the forks in the sink. Then she came back to the sofa and found Draco sprawled out with his now naked feet perched on the arm of the sofa.

“Why am I doing this?” she muttered to herself.

Surely this broke some sort of laws of man. She was actually going to give Draco a foot rub. And it didn’t even matter if he was paying her, it was still weird. But her life had been nothing but weird since he showed up again. So she sat down and put his feet in her lap.

“Are you ticklish?” she wondered hovering her hands above his vulnerable feet.

“No. But don’t be trying anything just in case,” he scolded her.

“Oh alright. I’ll be nice.”

She started rubbing his feet and his eyes actually rolled in the back of his head and he let out a little sigh of contentment.

“This is the life. This is gonna be the best eight galleons I’ve ever spent,” he sighed happily.

Hermione just tried not to notice how intimate this scene was. She said it was friendship, but the truth was, she’d never given any of her friends a foot rub. It seemed highly personal, even if it wasn’t exactly erotic. Draco’s feet were naked! That was intimate enough. And the sounds he was making made it seem like she was doing a lot more than rubbing his feet. It made her blush, and she tried not to let him see, but he noticed.

“Why is your face all red?” he inquired curiously.

“What? Oh, it’s just a little warm in here, that’s all,” she lied. “You know what? It’s your turn,” she said quickly as she pushed his feet off her lap and stuck her feet in his.

He wasn’t too pleased that it was over so quickly, but he started rubbing her dainty little feet and he noticed they had pink polish on the toes. It was sexy. Then he wondered where on earth that thought came from. So he just looked away from her feet and back at her face. But her eyes were closed and she was relishing his touch, just like he relished hers. He wondered if she looked like that during sex too, and then it was him blushing. And he didn’t even know he could blush. She opened her eyes and saw his red face and started laughing slightly.

“Are you hot too?” she asked inquisitively.

“Huh? No. Oh, my face. Yeah, it’s a little hot in here. Do you have water?” he asked suddenly, shoving her feet off his lap. It was just getting a little too uncomfortable for him.

“No, I don’t have water. It costs extra and I can’t afford it. I just bathe in the gutter after it rains,” she said sarcastically, giving him a look.

“Very funny. Of course you have water. It’s just, can I have some?” he restated his question after making a face at her.

“Sure. Give me a second.”

She scrambled off the sofa and went to the kitchen to get two glasses of water for them both. She had to admit she was enjoying that foot rub a little too much. And she knew he enjoyed it. Which meant they probably should stop. It was just too much. She came back to the sofa and sat down next to him and handed him the water. He gulped it down and she tried not to laugh.

“Wow, you were thirsty,” she noted.

“I really was. Can I have more?” he asked holding out his now empty glass.

“Look, I’m not here to wait on you hand and foot. Literally. If you want water, get up and go get water. I’m not your handmaiden,” she said making a face at him, and trying to break the tension that filled the air.

“Fine. Be a terrible hostess. In my world, when you visit someone, they do wait on you. It’s polite,” he told her as he stood up and went to the kitchen.

“Yeah, well you’re here all the time now, so just get your own damn water,” she said sticking her tongue out at him.

He just looked at that tongue and wanted to bite it. And do other very unmentionable things to her. He couldn’t help it. Who knew a foot massage could stir such feelings? He didn’t have a thing for feet, but he sure liked her little feet. Which made him wish he was drinking something stronger than water so he could forget that nonsense. Hermione was just relieved he was off her sofa and away from her, because maybe then she could concentrate better. Why was she having these lusty thoughts about Draco and his perfect feet? It had to stop. So when he sat back down again, she pretended to be tired.

“I’m knackered. Maybe you should go home?” she offered, trying to get rid of him.

“It’s not even seven yet. You’re going to bed?” he asked with disappointment.

“I’ll probably read first, but yes, I’m tired,” she lied with a fake yawn.

“At least finish rubbing my feet. I don’t think you did it long enough to constitute me paying you eight galleons for it,” he informed her.

“You didn’t do mine that long either,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but you gave me crappy Lean Cuisine food and I’m giving you money. Therein lies the difference,” he explained.

“Oh fine. Give me your damn feet,” she grumbled as she took his feet back onto her lap and rubbed them again.

He started making contended noises again and it was driving her mad. She just kept thinking, I bet this is what he sounds like during sex, and she couldn’t stop herself. And Draco seemed oblivious, but he wasn’t. He was just enjoying every second of it. But then it became too much for Hermione and she decided to put a spectacular end to it. She started tickling his feet, even if he said he wasn’t ticklish. She bet he lied. And she was right. He started freaking out when she tickled him and started kicking his feet this way and that.

“Stop woman! What the fuck are you doing? I said no tickling!” he cried unhappily.

“You said you weren’t ticklish!” she shot back and never stopped tickling him.

“I lied! I didn’t think you’d attack me!” he said trying to get away from her.

He succeeded and then promptly grabbed her up and pinned her down and started tickling her ribs. She burst into a fit of a laughter and screams and tried to kick him off of her, but he was too strong.

“Stop! Stop! Oh my God, you’re killing me!” she screamed at him.

“Oh, you can dish it out, but you can’t take it eh?” he asked, never letting up on her.

That is until she managed to shove him off the sofa with her legs and she jumped on top of him on the floor. She was straddling him and tickling his armpits when she looked down and realized how scandalous this looked. She was straddling him. That was no good. Especially since he stopped laughing and started giving her lusty eyes. And for his part, he didn’t mean to give the lusty eyes to her, but she was sitting on a very personal spot and he hoped she couldn’t tell how excited he was at this. But she could tell, and she immediately jumped off him and smoothed down her skirt.

“Okay then, I think we’ve had enough of that for one night,” she said trying to save face.

He jumped up too and smoothed down his clothes.

“Yes, yes, that’s enough childishness for one night. God, as if I’ll ever ask you for a favor again,” he scoffed running his fingers through his hair.

“Yes, well, it’s late,” she lied. “Goodnight.”

“Okay, goodnight.”

And with that he grabbed up his shoes and stormed out of her flat. She just looked after him until he closed the door and then she held her head in her hands. What was that? She could feel boner poking her! Did Draco have lusty thoughts for her too? Was she not the only one? She shook her head to dispel the thoughts and she realized she shouldn’t be having those thoughts either. They were neighbors. That’s it. And that’s all it ever would be. She promised herself that’s all it ever would be. She would not fall for Draco Malfoy. Never. Never ever. Not in this lifetime. But now suddenly she felt like she needed a cold shower. But before she could formulate that plan, there was a knock on her door. She just smiled to herself and went to open it. Draco stood there, still holding his shoes in his hands and his face was still pink from embarrassment.

“I forgot the eight galleons,” he told her handing over the money.

“Oh, thanks,” she said momentarily forgetting about the promise of payment.

“For the record, you give a good foot rub. At least until you started tickling me. That’s not a very friendly thing to do.”

“I couldn’t resist,” she shrugged slightly.

“You’re kind of evil. Aren’t I supposed to be the evil one? Are you the bad one and I’m the good one now?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Maybe?” she smiled at him.

“Goodnight Hermione.”

“Wait, you actually called me by my name,” she remarked with some surprise.

“Yeah? Well we’re friends now right?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, friends.”

“Friends.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Draco.”

And with that, she closed the door and realized they had just graduated beyond neighbors to friends. It was a start. Only she didn’t know what she was doing. She shouldn’t want to be his friend at all. But he’d wormed his way into her life and her heart and she only hoped she could keep him from getting closer to her. She’d have to try harder. She couldn’t let her wayward hormones dictate her life. So she set off to take that cold shower and try to think of anything but Draco and his perfect feet.

 

To be continued….

I’m so pleased that you all are enjoying this story! Keep the comments coming! I appreciate them all so much.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione go shopping for Draco's new flat.

Some time passed and Draco was starting to settle into his new job better than his first day at least. But he came home each night with his feet dying of pain. He had no suitable work shoes and his very expensive loafers were constantly covered in ice cream droppings. But he’d managed to hide his secret from everyone, especially Hermione. She stopped prodding about coming to see him when he bought her the books she wanted from Flourish and Blotts. When the owner saw him enter the shop, he told him pigs hadn’t started flying yet so therefore there was no job for him. But Draco just brushed it off and said he was there to spend money. And he acted like the books were for him. Which got him some looks because all the books were on magical law and one was about growing roses, which he had to note had nothing to do with work. Apparently Hermione just wanted to learn how to grow them. But Draco pretended it was him who was interested and had to stand and listen to the shop clerk regale him with tales of their own prize winning roses. He was kind of glad he didn’t get that job now because the employees were insufferable. But he procured the books and Hermione was none the wiser. But he still hated his life. He hadn’t gotten paid yet, which was proving to be very stressful for him. He had given Hermione eight galleons which left him with only five left to last him until pay day, but he’d just spent the last of it on some meager groceries. More pots of noodles and as a treat, some candies that were on clearance at the market. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do for money until he got paid.

But when he came home from the market, he found Hermione just arriving home from work. He smiled at her and pointed to the bags in his hands.

“Look, I went shopping. All by myself!” he said proudly.

“Really? What did you get?” she asked with only slight interest, but she knew it was an accomplishment for him.

“I got some noodles and some candy and a frozen burrito. I’ve never eaten a burrito before. What is it anyway?” he asked holding up the food item for her perusal.

“It’s Mexican food. It’s not bad. Although I’d never peg you for a frozen burrito eater,” she noted.

“Well it was very cheap. You realize I spent most of my money on that foot rub from the other night,” he told her honestly.

“You did? Now I feel bad. You should have kept your money then,” she said feeling guilty.

“No, you earned the money. Except for the tickling part. On second thought, I want a refund,” he said with a grin as he held out his hand.

“A refund? Well now, let me just fill out this handy return slip and we’ll get you on your way, sir,” she said with a giggle.

“Oh you think I’m joking, do you? Give me my money back. Or at least some of it. Please?” he added in a small voice.

“Oh alright. Let me put my stuff away first though. And you need to put your groceries up. I’ll drop it off in a few minutes,” she said as she unlocked her door and went inside.

He just watched her go and then smiled to himself. It wasn’t so hard to get money, he thought. Just ask for refunds when you don’t like something. And you could pretend to not like a lot of things. Maybe this was the secret that poor people kept? He’d have to remember it. But he went inside his flat and put his bag on the counter and put the few items away. Then Hermione knocked on the door. He opened it up and let her in. It was very dark in the place, save for his one meager lamp, and there were still boxes everywhere, she noted.

“You haven’t unpacked yet?” she asked looking around at things.

“Honestly I would unpack except I have nowhere to put anything. My bedroom is better. I have a dresser and a bed and a candle. But I’m afraid I don’t have much else,” he admitted sadly.

“Where’s your sofa?” she wondered idly.

“I don’t have one. Why do you think I come to your place all the time?” he told her.

“Well that’s just sad. What do you sit on in here?” she asked curiously.

“I have some pillows over there. I just sit there. I have candles in here too.”

“And you don’t watch the telly or anything?”

“A telly? Do you think my parents ever bought me a telly? Please. That’s so far beneath them. Malfoy’s read for entertainment. Except it’s hard to read by candlelight. It hurts my eyes. Maybe if I had more candles?” he surmised.

“That’s it. We’re going shopping,” she said, unable to bear Draco’s living conditions a second longer.

“Shopping for what?”

“Stuff. I don’t know. More candles? Anything at all? I don’t know how you stand this,” she said sadly.

“I don’t really like it, that’s for sure. But with only eight galleons, I can’t get much. And you still have to give me the galleons back,” he reminded her.

She fished in her pocket and handed him the galleons and then she took his hand and pulled him with her towards the door.

“Don’t worry about money, okay? Let me just get you a few things at least. You keep the galleons. I’ll just get my purse and we’ll go,” she said insistently.

“Go where?”

“I’ll think of someplace. I do love the home goods store down the street. I could spend all day in there,” she said dreamily.

“You really do not have to buy me anything. I’m going to get paid in four days,” he informed her, feeling slightly uncomfortable with her shopping trip idea.

“But I want to do this. At least let me buy you a tea set. You can’t drink tea out of a mouse anymore,” she giggled and pulled his hand again.

“What’s wrong with drinking out of a mouse eh?” he laughed.

“It’s just not okay. Come on. Let’s go get my purse and head out,” she urged him.

They went to her flat and got her purse and then they set off into the night together. The store she was talking about was only three blocks away so they just walked there easily. They went inside and Draco could not believe all the crap they had. It was so brightly lit and there were tons of garish looking items that he’d never in a million years purchase, no matter how much money he had. But there were some other items he wouldn’t mind owning. But he didn’t even know where to start. But Hermione grabbed his arm and ushered him towards the tea sets. There were a lot to choose from. And some of them looked really expensive, but when Draco checked the tags, they were actually fairly cheap. Who knew you could buy nice looking stuff for cheap? Certainly not him. He picked out a tea set with a depiction of tiny blue flowers on it. It wasn’t too girly and at least it was mostly blue.

“I like this one,” he proclaimed happily, holding it up.

“How much is it?” she wondered idly, knowing she’d still get it for him unless it was crazy expensive.

“It’s only thirty pounds and it comes with a teapot and four cups and saucers. That’s a bargain!” he proclaimed.

She laughed slightly.

“It is a bargain. Okay, you can get that. And do you want some more candles too?”

“Yes please.”

He put the tea set into their basket and they went off in search of candles. Draco found several good ones that smelled nice too, and then he saw the Tiki torches.

“Oh I need these!” he said excitedly.

“Draco, those are for outdoors. Like a patio or something. You can’t burn them inside the apartment,” she told him with amusement.

“But it doesn’t say that anywhere. Why can’t I burn them indoors?” he pouted

“Because you’ll burn down your flat. You’re not on an episode of Survivor. You don’t need a Tiki torch!” she batted his hand away like he was a petulant child.

“Fine. What else can I get?”

“You still have your eight galleons to spend,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but this is Muggle land. They don’t take galleons and Gringotts is closed now so I can’t convert the money,” he informed her.

“True. I hadn’t thought of that. I always carry both types of money with me.”

“So what else can Draco get?” he asked excitedly, almost feeling like he was shopping with his mum again.

“Down Draco. I’m already spending a decent amount of money on you. What else do you want?” she said with some exasperation as she didn’t intend to buy out the whole store for him.

“How about this bean bag chair? It’d be more comfortable than pillows. And it’s only fifteen pounds. Come on. Pretty please?” he batted his eyelashes at her.

“God Draco, is this what you did to your parents? Giving them your pathetic puppy eyes? No wonder they gave you anything you wanted,” she said with a small grin.

She was unable to resist his charms too, but she sure wish she could. She didn’t know what possessed her to take him shopping except she really did have a soft spot for the under privileged. And drinking tea out of transfigured mouse was about as under privileged as it got.

Draco begged and pleaded until she threw the black bean bag chair into her cart.

“Happy now?” she wondered giving him a look.

“Very happy. We can leave now,” he said looking like a kid who just got the last toy on the shelf.

But what she didn’t know was that this kindness she showed him, meant an awful lot to him. He was reverting to his spoiled brat ways a little, but he did appreciate it. A lot. More than Hermione would ever know. And he made a mental note that as soon as he got paid, he’d ask her to dinner. Purely as friends, of course. But she’d fed him and bought him stuff, it was the least he could do for her.

They went up to the checkout and Hermione purchased the items. Then they had to trudge all the way back home carrying a huge bean bag chair along with everything else. They were both relieved to get to their building and decided to brave the lift because they were tired of carrying things.

“I thought you said this thing gets stuck?” he asked as they tossed the bean bag chair into the lift and then stepped inside.

“It does sometimes. But hopefully tonight we’ll get lucky,” she remarked, crossing her fingers.

“What happens if we do get stuck?”

“You wait until someone answers the little phone inside. But usually no one is there. Just hush up and get in. I’m sure we’ll be fine,” she said quickly as she pushed the button for the third floor.

They each prayed to their own gods that the lift wouldn’t get stuck. It was sailing along okay, even if incredibly slow, but it didn’t appear to be stopping prematurely. But right before they got to their floor the lift shuddered to a halt.

“Oh fuck,” Hermione mumbled to herself.

“Are we stuck? You promised we wouldn’t get stuck!” he said, panicking slightly.

“Just relax. I can see our floor. It’s right there. Now we just need to wait for someone to come along and help us,” she told him as calmly as she could.

“What about the little phone?” he asked, picking it up and holding it out to her.

“We can try that,” she nodded as she took it out of his hand and put it to her ear.

It rang and rang and rang and she was just about to give up when someone answered.

“Yes, yes, my name is Hermione Granger and I live in apartment 3B. I’m afraid we’re stuck in the lift.”

“Tell them I’m diabetic! I need my insulin!” Draco shouted hopefully loud enough for the person to hear.

“Yes, that’s right. He’s diabetic and needs his insulin so you should hurry up!” she told the person on the phone. Then she muttered a few other things and then hung up and looked at Draco.

“So?” he asked eagerly, ready to get out of the lift.

“Yeah, they said it’d be an hour. But that was a nice touch about the diabetes,” she patted him on the back.

“Shit. A whole fucking hour stuck in a lift? Why didn’t we just take the bloody stairs?” he groaned as he plopped down into the bean bag chair and sulked.

“Relax, it could be worse. They could have not picked up at all. But maybe someone else will come by and they can get us out? Think positively!” she said, despite her own unhappiness at being in the lift. But it was her stupid idea.

“What are we going to do for an hour? I get claustrophobic. I’m going to die in here, aren’t I?” he asked, pulling on his collar to try and get more air.

“We can sit and talk? Or play a game? I don’t know. But you’ll be fine. Just keep breathing. The lift is open and you can see our floor right there! Just keep concentrating on that. If I could pry the bars open I could maybe climb up there? Do you want me to try?” she asked, trying to keep him calm.

“Do you really think you could do anything if you made it to our floor? Or would I have to crawl out after you?” he wondered.

“Well you’d have to crawl out after me. I’m afraid I flunked elevator repair at Hogwarts,” she said giving him a look.

He just sneered at her and flipped her off.

“Very cute. No, we should just wait for the repair person. I don’t fancy getting stuck for real in between the bars and the floor. I’ll just sit here and wait,” he said with a sigh.

“So Draco, are you really claustrophobic?” she asked, trying to make conversation.

“Yes, I am. But don’t go spreading it around. I have a reputation to protect,” he told her.

“I used to be claustrophobic too until I had to endure far worse things than being stuck in a tight space. I got over it,” she shrugged slightly.

Yeah? Well I still don’t like small spaces with no air. Thankfully this lift isn’t completely enclosed. It really helps that I can see out of it. Even if I’m looking at a brick wall mostly. God, I hope they hurry,” he said miserably.

“Wanna play a game to get your mind off things?” she offered, trying to help him relax.

“Sure. What kind of game?”

“Eye spy?”

“Alright. I’ll go first. I spy something red,” he told her.

She looked around for a second then she answered him.

“The brick wall?”

“Bingo! Your turn.”

“I spy something blue.”

“My tea set!”

“Yes. Okay, your turn again.”

“I spy something black.”

“The bean bag chair.”

“Nope. Guess again!”

“The bars on the lift door?”

“Yes! God, this game is dull. There’s not a lot to spy in this cramped little space. Let’s do something else,” he said getting bored really quickly.

“How about truth or dare?” she offered him.

“Alright, except I don’t know how many dares we can do stuck inside a tiny container like this,” he noted.

“Let’s just try. I’ll take a truth first though,” she told him.

“Alright. Lemme see. Okay, I got a good one. Did you ever make out with Harry?” he asked with a devious smile on his face.

“What? No! Why would I make out with Harry?” she laughed at him.

He shrugged.

“I dunno. You two lot were always so cozy and joined at the hip. Figured you let him take a poke or at least get a little tongue action,” he said to her.

“Oh ew. Let Harry take a poke? That’s disgusting. And you’re a pig,” she stuck her nose in the air.

“Please. I’m barely being offensive at all. You should have heard the question I didn’t ask,” he scoffed.

“I don’t even wanna know,” she shook her head. “My turn. Truth or dare?”

“Truth I suppose.”

“Okay, how old were you when you lost your virginity?” she asked simply because she was actually insanely curious about that and this was a good excuse to ask him.

“I was fifteen. And it was awful. But I’m not going into details because the game doesn’t call for details,” he said coolly.

“Oh come on. Now I want details. Who was it with?” she asked him quickly.

“None of your business. I already answered the question. Now it’s your turn. Truth or dare?” he deflected her curiosity.

She ignored him though and kept on asking questions.

“Who was it really? Pansy? Where did you do it? I can’t believe you were only fifteen. Why was it awful?” she rambled on.

“You sure are nosy, Granger. God. For your information it was with Pansy. And it was a dare by Goyle to see if I could get Pansy naked,” he started to explain. “And I did. Spectacularly so. But we were in the broom cupboard by the main stairs and we could hear people coming and going and I was so afraid Filch was going to open up the door, I only lasted about three seconds. Pansy told all her friends what a terrible lay I was and everyone in Slytherin house laughed at me for weeks and called me Senor Speedy.”

Hermione just looked at him and started laughing uncontrollably. Senor Speedy was the funniest thing she ever heard in her life. And she had no idea Draco was the butt of jokes in his own house. She knew other houses would have had a field day with this information, but even his Slytherin friends made wicked fun of him. She held her stomach from laughing so hard.

“Will you shut up? It’s not that funny!” he said angrily.

“It is so that funny. That’s what I’m gonna call you from now on. Senor Speedy,” she erupted into giggles again.

“Fine, fine. Laugh at Draco and all his misfortunes in life. It’s not my fault! I was distracted and also a virgin and also fifteen! I’d like to see you do better,” he challenged her. “Was your first time amazing? Did Ron knock your socks off?”

“I’m not talking about my first time. No way. But let’s just say no one accused me of being speedy,” she said stifling her giggles.

“But was Ron speedy?”

“That’s not my story to tell. But for my part, it wasn’t that noteworthy, let’s just say,” she told him honestly.

“A-ha! So it sucked eh? I knew I couldn’t be the only one. When Crabbe and Goyle heard about this they claimed their first times were amazing. But I knew they were full of shit. And of course they kept saying they’d done it with foreign girls so I couldn’t check the story. Liars! I knew all men were bad at sex at first,” he said righteously.

“You’re so gullible. Did you actually believe Crabbe and Goyle bedded foreign girls? Please. That’s the worst lie I’ve ever heard. And for the record, I never said Ron sucked. I just said it wasn’t noteworthy for me.”

“Not noteworthy huh? So nothing happened then? And for your information I never really believed Crabbe and Goyle, but I had no way to prove them wrong!” he said defensively.

“Well either way, I would have laughed at their story. And known it was a story. And for your information, no, nothing happened for me my first time. Except it hurt a lot,” she remembered.

“Hurt a lot eh? Did he do it wrong?”

“No. He was just bigger than I anticipated, that’s all. It always hurts girls the first time!”

“Really? Pansy didn’t get much of an experience so who knows if it hurt her? But really, Ron was bigger than you thought? He can’t be as big as me,” Draco said proudly.

“Oh God, as if. You wouldn’t know! You’ve never seen Ron naked before,” she shot back at him.

“Yeah, well you’ve never seen me naked before either,” he shot right back.

“And I’m never going to! Ever! Ugh, how long have we been in this lift?” she asked miserably.

“About seven minutes. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me longer and I’m ready for my next question,” he told her with a yawn.

“Actually it’s my turn, not yours. You just kept talking. And I want a dare this time,” she said smoothing down her skirt.

“You’re a brave one,” he remarked with a smug smile. Oh, the things he wanted to dare her to do… like take off all her clothes, or kiss him, or jump on him. Or simply frolic nude for his pleasure. But he had to keep those lusty thoughts at bay. He sighed a little and looked at her. “Okay, I dare you to try and climb out of this shit heap and get us moving,” he told her finally.

“Fine. I can do that. I think. I just need to pry the doors open and slip through the bars. Can you help me?” she asked reaching up to pull the doors apart.

“Nope, this is your dare.”

She made a face at him and pulled out her wand. No one was looking at them so she could use magic. She opened the doors easily and put her wand away and jumped up and grabbed the floor above her. She tried with all her might to slip through the small opening but she ended up getting her blouse caught on the bars and she fell down and ripped a hole right through her blouse exposing her bra right in Draco’s face.

“Oh shit!” she cried and tried to cover herself.

Draco just smiled at her.

“Now that’s a good dare. I was gonna ask you to strip, but I figured I’d be a gentlemen. But if you wanna rip off your clothes, I’m game,” he teased her.

She went over and smacked his arm.

“Be quiet! Oh my God, that was horrible. My blouse is ruined! I can’t believe you saw my bra!”

“Relax, it’s a pretty bra. Now if it was one of those white granny bras with the crisscross straps, I’d have to laugh really hard.”

“Give me your shirt!” she commanded him.

“What? My shirt? Why?” he asked with confusion.

“Why? I’m standing here with my tits exposed and you wanna know why I want your shirt?” she asked shrilly.

“God, okay. But then I’m going to be topless and you’ll stare at my boobs instead,” he said giving her a look.

“Your boobs? As if I wanna see your man nipples! Just take off the shirt or I’m returning all this stuff I just bought you,” she challenged him.

“Fine, fine. We can’t have that. Here’s my shirt,” he said unbuttoning his shirt and handing it over to her. Then he just sort of crossed his arms because he felt ridiculous being shirtless in a lift while sitting in a bean bag chair.

“Now that’s better,” Hermione said, pulling his shirt on and buttoning it up over her ruined blouse.

“I’ll be cold, you realize,” he pointed out to her.

“Oh be quiet. It’s July. You’ll survive,” she told him as she made a face at him.

“Face it, you just wanted to see me shirtless,” he smirked at her.

She looked at him and shook her head.

“Hardly. As if I care. But you seemed perfectly content to have me expose myself at you,” she pointed out.

“Well I am still a man. Broken and pathetic as I might be, I’m still a man,” he admitted.

She just stood there staring at him for a minute and realized he really did look good with no shirt. She’d seen him answer his door like that before, but this was even better. But she had to control herself. She couldn’t go jumping on him right now. She had to have some self-control. Otherwise he’d make fun of her for the rest of her life, she deduced. So she remained stoic.

“Scoot over,” she told him finally.

“What?”

“Scoot over. I wanna sit down too. My feet are tired,” she told him as she kicked off her heels and plopped down in the bean bag chair next to him.

He tried not to notice their closeness, but the way the chair worked, she was practically on his lap. He just hoped she couldn’t tell how much it was affecting him to be close to her while he wasn’t wearing much, and she had his shirt on. There was something incredibly sexy about a girl wearing your shirt. But he bit his tongue and said nothing because he didn’t want to ruin whatever this was they had. After all, she’d just bought him gifts. If he made a move on her, she might take them back again. So he just crossed his arms tighter and sat as far away from her as possible.

For Hermione’s part, she just wondered why he was acting like she had cooties. Could he possibly sit farther away from her? She didn’t get it. And then she thought maybe she was better off topless? At least then he was looking at her. This icy silence and distance was going to make the time go so much slower.

“I wish I had a drink,” Draco said, finally breaking the silence. “Do you have anything to drink in that ridiculously large handbag of yours?”

“I have mouthwash?” she offered with a small smile.

“Mouthwash? No thanks, but it’s tempting,” he smiled back. “I was thinking like some of those little tiny bottles of booze.”

“Does my purse look like an airline cart? Am I your stewardess? Of course I don’t have tiny bottles of booze in my purse!” she cried, trying not to laugh.

“It was worth a shot. I’m just really super bored.”

“We could try playing another game?” she offered weakly, as she was very bored herself.

“Nah, that’s alright. Unless you’ve got cards in your purse?” he wondered.

“Draco, my purse isn’t Santa’s magic sack. I only keep essentials in there,” she explained.

“Then why is it so fucking big? You should have games and booze and other emergency supplies in there,” he chided her with a grin.

She just ruffled his hair and then she realized she was doing that and quickly shoved his head back away from her and tried to pretend she hadn’t just ran her hands through his hair lovingly.

“You’re such a dork,” she said quickly.

“Why’d you mess up my hair? Now I look stupid,” he said, trying to smooth it back down again.

“You’re sitting shirtless in a lift on a bean bag chair. I don’t think you have to worry about your hair making you look stupid,” she shot back at him.

“Hey now, it’s your bloody fault I’m shirtless in a lift! You said, come on Draco, let’s use the lift. My feet are tired. And now look at us!” he shot back.

“Well excuse me. That tea set was heavy! Plus your enormous bag of candles. I was carrying everything,” she told him heatedly.

“I had the bean bag chair! It’s huge. I couldn’t carry anything else!”

“Ugh, just whatever. Hopefully we’ll be out of here soon,” she said running out of more insults. It was her fault they were stuck. But she didn’t want to concede that because she was stubborn and she was trying to pick a fight with Draco so she’d stop lusting after him shirtless.

But it wasn’t really working because when he yawned and stretched, Hermione saw all his muscles stretch too and she wanted to gently lick her way up his chest until she kissed him so hard neither one of them could breathe. But she could never actually do that. It was against the rules. And Draco just kept staring at the top button of his shirt because if she moved just so, you could still see her bra. And it was a nice bra. All black and lacy with red on it. He wondered if she had knickers to match. Who knew Granger had sexy lingerie? Certainly not him. But now he knew and he couldn’t stop thinking of it.

“So any exciting plans for this weekend?” he asked her just to have something to occupy his mind.

“Not really. I’m meeting up with Harry and Ginny and we’re having lunch and stuff tomorrow. What are you doing?” she asked trying to be polite and not horny.

“I have to work. But I do have Sunday off. Finally. Then I get paid on Monday. Which speaking of getting paid, do you want me to pay you back for all this stuff you got me?” he inquired.

“No. These were gifts. I want to see you succeed. You don’t have to pay me back,” she assured him.

“Do you really want to see me succeed? I reckon most people are just waiting for me to fail,” he shrugged slightly.

“Who is? Not me. I know you can do this. It just takes time. But you have a really nice job, so I’m proud of you,” she admitted with a smile.

“Proud of me? Really?” If only she knew the truth of where he worked, then she’d be less proud.

“Maybe your family expects you to fail at this and go crawling back, but I believe in you. So yes, I’m proud,” she told him seriously.

“Thank you. It means a lot that someone believes in me. I just can’t believe it’s you,” he laughed slightly.

“I can’t believe it’s me either, so that makes two of us. But to be honest, you’re not really so bad. You’ve grown on me,” she shrugged.

“You’ve grown on me too,” he said as he scooted closer to her, even though they were already touching.

“I never imagined I’d care one way or the other about you,” she said softly, feeling his hand run up her arm.

“I didn’t either,” he said moving in for a kiss, no matter how wayward it might be.

Hermione just looked at him and saw his lust face and realized she was about to be kissed. Why was he going to kiss her? And would he keep doing it forever possibly? She was ready for this. They leaned in and came only a few centimeters apart when someone started banging on the lift doors from above. They jumped back.

“Hey you down there! You need some help?”

Hermione tried to jump up but the bean bag chair sucked her down a little, but Draco boosted her up.

“Yes, we’re stuck! Can you get us out of here?” she cried to the person above.

“It won’t take long. I know a trick!” he called down to her.

So she just stood there and waited for the lift to move again and tried not to look at Draco who was just now standing up. He put his hand on her back and she shuddered slightly.

“Hey, we’re saved. And it didn’t even take the full hour. We survived!” he said happily.

“Yes, yes we did. And not a moment too soon,” she muttered under her breath.

“What’s that now?” he asked not having heard her all the way.

“Nothing, I just said it was a good thing they came when they did. We were so bored,” she added trying to forget they almost kissed.

“Right, it was so boring,” he agreed, and wondered what it meant that she was choosing to ignore their almost kiss.

Truth is, he could have stayed in there much longer if it meant Hermione would make out with him. But alas that wasn’t meant to be. He never did have any luck these days.

After about five minutes, the lift started making an awful sound and then it jolted itself upward, knocking Hermione and Draco over into the bean bag chair on top of each other. She just looked down at him and he looked up at her, and they both wondered if the moment could be gotten back again. But in no time, the doors opened and the repair man stood there looking at them.

“Cozy. Nice bean bag chair,” he said with a grin.

They scrambled up and tried to smooth their clothes down. And Draco realized again he was shirtless.

“Uh you’re probably wondering why I’m not wearing a shirt,” Draco started to tell the man.

“Say no more. Not my business,” he held up his hands.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Hermione protested.

“I’m just here to fix the lift. I don’t need explanations. But next time you wanna spice things up, don’t use this lift. It’s older than the hills. I’m going to put an out of order sign on it for now,” he said, refusing to allow either of them to explain.

They just gathered up their items and started trudging towards their flats. But they could hear the older man humming the song Love in an Elevator as they walked away. Hermione tried not to laugh and just sighed instead. When they got to their doors, she waited for Draco to open up his so they could put the items away. He unlocked it and kicked the door in and flung the bean bag chair over into the corner, while Hermione set down the tea set and the bag of candles.

“Well this looks like my stop,” Draco said taking in the new atmosphere, which wasn’t a whole lot different than the old one yet. Not until he set up the candles at least and maybe had a cup of tea in a real cup.

“Yeah, I should get going. It’s kind of late now,” she nodded her head.

“Thanks for the gifts, Hermione,” he said with a grin.

“You’re welcome. I’m keeping this shirt for now. Hope you don’t mind.”

“It looks good on you.”

“Thanks.”

“I was rather hoping you’d do another striptease for me and this time take off the rest of your clothes,” he joked with her.

“Not in this lifetime, Malfoy. Not in this lifetime,” she shook her head and laughed at him.

“Well then, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

And with that, she walked out of his flat and back to her own. Neither one them really knew what had happened tonight, but something had changed. They’d almost kissed! Was that the product of being stuck in a lift together or something else? Were they really just bored? She’d been bored lots of times and never felt the urge to make out with anyone in her vicinity. But that had to be all it really was. They were in close quarters and had nothing else to do. Plus she’d just exposed her bra to him and he was shirtless. It was like the making of a really bad porno. Their actions couldn’t be helped! At least that’s what she told herself. And Draco didn’t really know what to do with his wayward feelings. No one else had ever shown this much caring towards him before. She bought him things. And they weren’t family so she wasn’t obligated to do it. And she wasn’t his girlfriend either. She just did it. For the hell of it. Because she didn’t want him suffering. He’d never had a friend like that before. But he wondered if friends was all it would ever really be. He was going to kiss her this night and she wasn’t going to stop him. He had to contemplate what that might mean. But he was pretty sure it meant he liked her. A lot. More than just a friendly amount. But he wasn’t sure he ever should tell her that. After all, she seemed relieved to be saved and not kissed. But then again, he was relieved to be saved too. It was all too much for him to process, so he sat down in his bean bag chair and lit a few candles and just daydreamed about Hermione.

 

To be continued….

Thanks to everyone who has been reading and commenting and following along! I’m so happy you like this story! Please keep leaving comments. I appreciate them so much!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone finds out about Draco's new job. Meanwhile it only brings him and Hermione closer....

The next day Draco went to work, and Hermione got ready to meet Harry and Ginny in Diagon Alley to eat at one their favorite restaurants. It was this smallish pub that someone opened up after the war right across from the joke shop. They thought they would eat there and then pop in on Ron and George and say hello. At least that was their plan. When Hermione got to the place, Harry and Ginny were already sitting on the patio at a table waiting for her. They were always early, even if Hermione was never late. But she smiled when she saw them and she joined them on the patio. They all hugged and sat back down again.

“So Hermione what have you been up to? How’s it having Malfoy for a neighbor eh?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Oh, Harry told you about that huh? It’s been alright. He’s not so bad,” she shrugged slightly.

“I would think he’d drive me crazy. Just his presence alone would irritate me constantly,” Harry said with a shake of his head.

“Honestly I don’t see him that much. It’s no biggie,” she lied. She never wanted to tell Harry and Ginny she was actually friends with him. And that they almost kissed. And that she had lusty bad thoughts of him nearly all the time now.

“Well that’s good. At least he leaves you alone,” Harry surmised.

“He works at Flourish and Blotts, you know?” Hermione offered up to help make Draco look better to her friends.

“Really? I didn’t see him in there when I went the other day,” Ginny said with a confused look.

“Well maybe he was on a break? I’m sure he’s not on the floor the entire time. He could have been in the back?” Hermione offered up.

“Maybe. Either way, I’m kind of glad I didn’t see him. I hate that guy,” Ginny grumbled.

“We all do, Gin. I think we’re all in agreement there,” Harry laughed.

Hermione just stayed quiet and didn’t agree or disagree. She used to hate him, but now? Now was a different story. She just couldn’t admit it or else her friends would have her committed to St. Mungos.

“So what looks good to eat today?” Hermione asked pleasantly, trying to steer the conversation away from Draco.

They all looked at their menus and everyone found something they wanted. They ate their meal and luckily Draco didn’t come up in conversation again. But when Harry finished his fish and chips super fast, Ginny remarked to him.

“God, you must have been famished. I’ve still got half my plate left. I should call you Mr. Speed Eater,” she chuckled slightly.

Hermione heard that and started giggling like crazy.

She muttered under her breath, “Senor Speedy,” and then she burst out laughing.

“What is she on?” Ginny asked with amusement.

“I have no clue,” Harry gave Hermione an odd look. “Are you okay?”

“Me? I’m fine. Sorry. I just remembered something really funny and I had to laugh. Ignore me,” Hermione said waving her hand in the air.

Then she just kept thinking of poor Draco and his three second sexual performance in school. She couldn’t believe he actually told her the truth about it. The old Draco would have lied his ass off, but this new Draco seemed to spill his guts to her a lot. It was a welcome change. But she also hoped he got a lot better at the task. She had fantasies and none of them involved him coming in three seconds and leaving her wanting. No, in her fantasies it was more like they’d spend hours in bed and never get tired. That’s what she wanted to think about. Except she didn’t realize she was thinking about it in front of Harry and Ginny and they noted her far off fantasy induced lust face.

“Uh, are you sure you’re okay? You look weird,” Harry noted making a face at her.

She was startled out of her thoughts and shook her head.

“I’m fine. Sorry. I spaced out. What we were talking about now?” she tried to catch up on the conversation.

“I was just saying that after we talk to Ron and George, maybe we’ll get some ice cream? It’s a hot day and it sounds good. Ron can even come with us,” Harry told her his plan.

“Sure, sure. Sounds good.”

Part of her wanted to go to Flourish and Blotts to see Draco, but she knew she couldn’t bring Harry and Ginny along on that adventure. Plus, Draco specifically asked her not to visit him. She just didn’t understand why exactly. But she wasn’t going to go against his wishes. She didn’t want to upset him. So they all finished their meals and paid and went over to the joke shop. It was bustling with activity as it usually was on a Saturday. But they found Ron easily helping some customers, but he smiled when they approached him. He finished up his task and turned to his friends.

“You guys are here. Great! Are we still getting ice cream?” Ron asked the group.

“You told him about the ice cream?” Ginny chuckled slightly.

“It was the best way to get him to take a break,” Harry shrugged.

“I’ll just get my bag from the back and tell George I’m taking my lunch,” Ron said happily.

“Where is George? We wanted to say hello to him too,” Hermione spoke up.

“He’s in the back somewhere. Inventory. We’re a little shorthanded still, but I still deserve a lunch. I just can’t be gone that long. I only get thirty minutes,” He told them all.

“Well go get your stuff and we’ll be waiting. We won’t let you be late,” Harry shoved him slightly to propel him towards the back of the store.

Ron went and got his bag and then they all set off to Scoopy’s ice cream parlor. None of them had been there in a long while, so it was a nice treat. And Ron never could pass up ice cream for lunch.

“I’m going to get the biggest sundae they offer,” he said dreamily as they all walked towards the shop.

“I’m just going to get a cone. I’m still a little stuffed from lunch,” Hermione told them.

They rounded the corner and walked up to the shop. No one really paid any mind to who was behind the counter and he hadn’t looked up yet. But when they entered the shop the employee greeted them.

“Welcome to Scoopy’s. How may I—“ Draco stopped short when he actually looked at who entered the shop. He ended his sentence with, “fuck me.”

Ron took one look at Draco in the polka dot shirt and pink hat and burst out laughing. Harry wasn’t far behind, and Ginny was trying to stifle her own giggles. Hermione just stood there and stared at him with open mouthed shock.

“Oh my God, Malfoy works at Scoopy’s!” Ron guffawed and slapped his legs.

“I gotta say, you look good in polka dots,” Harry ribbed him.

“Yeah, very not lame at all,” Ginny tried not to laugh.

“Right, right. Get your licks in. Draco works at Scoopy’s. What of it? It’s a fucking job, isn’t it?” Draco said feeling his face flush with embarrassment and he knew his old nemesis’s were having a field day with this one.

“Draco, what about Flourish and Blotts? You told me that’s where you worked,” Hermione said, not laughing but simply confused.

“I couldn’t get a job there, okay? They wouldn’t hire me. No one would hire me. This was the best I could do. Is everyone happy now?” Draco asked the crowd.

“I don’t know about the rest of you lot, but I’m tickled pink. I wish I brought my camera with me,” Ron said still laughing.

“Me too. I really need to have a camera right now. Must. Mock. Malfoy. Someone stop me!” Harry laughed heartily.

Draco was starting to feel incredibly stupid and horrified at this scene. He could barely look at Hermione for fear she was laughing right along with them. But she wasn’t. In fact she was getting annoyed with everyone, but she didn’t know what to do lest she give away how close she and Draco really were. So she just gave everyone dirty looks for the time being.

“Malfoy’s wearing a pink hat. Hey, do you have matching pink socks too? Or are they polka dotted?” Ron asked, making fun of him.

“You know, mock all you want, but I’m the one standing between you and your ice cream, Weasel. If you want it, better be nice to me or I’ll spit in it,” Draco told Ron heatedly.

“Then I’ll have you fired. Which could only make this wonderful day even better,” Ron shot back.

“Will everyone just stop? This isn’t funny!” Hermione cried, trying to put an end to the madness and Draco’s embarrassment. Then she turned to Draco. “Why’d you lie to me about where you worked?”

“I didn’t want this very thing happening. I didn’t want you and your mates to come make fun of me. I wanted you to respect me,” he said quietly, trying to pretend Hermione was the only one there.

“I do respect you. Possibly even more now, seeing what you really do. You should have told me,” she said softly.

“I wanted to, but I didn’t know how,” he admitted.

“Excuse me, but what the hell is going on here? Are you guys friends or something? I’m confused,” Ron asked giving them both strange looks.

“Yeah Hermione, you’re acting like this isn’t funny. But it is funny. Malfoy works at Scoopy’s!” Harry said and laughed again.

“That’s enough! For your information Draco is my friend. What of it? Does anyone want to challenge me? Because I will whoop all your asses. Don’t test me,” Hermione said wagging her finger at her friends.

“What? You’re friends with him? Since when?” Ron asked.

“Yeah, I thought you hated him still. You told me it was horrible having him live across from you,” Harry reminded her.

“Ugh, so I lied, okay? Draco and I are kinda sorta friends. Happy now? I admitted it,” Hermione sighed loudly.

“She bought me a bean bag chair,” Draco piped up with a grin.

“You did what? Why? I’m so confused,” Harry shook his head.

“Look do you losers want ice cream or not? Because if not, get out of my shop,” Draco pointed towards the door and looked at everyone but Hermione.

Just then the owner Mr. Cox came out and wanted to know what was going on.

“Mr. Malfoy, is there a problem with these patrons?” he asked giving them a fake smile.

“Yes, they’re making fun of my outfit and they’re not ordering anything. So I told them to order or get out. Is that okay?” Draco asked curiously.

“You’re making fun of my employee and not buying anything? Are you lot twelve?” Mr. Cox asked.

“Sorry sir, we didn’t mean to be disruptive,” Harry said politely, realizing they’d probably gone a little far.

“Then order something or get out, just like he said,” Mr. Cox told them before disappearing back into the kitchen area.

“You heard the man. Order or get out. I may be wearing polka dots, but I refer to them as my polka dots of power. See, I have the power to refuse service and throw your asses out. So stop making fun of me!” Draco said leaning over the counter and getting in Ron and Harry’s face.

“Fine, fine. Polka dots of power, my ass,” Ron grumbled. “I want the triple decker sundae. And do not spit in it. Or drop it on the floor. I’m watching you!”

“I’ll have the small caramel sundae,” Harry said quietly.

“Nothing for me,” Ginny remarked, still trying to stifle giggles behind her hand.

Then it came to Hermione. He looked at her.

“What do you want, Granger?”

“I’ll have the chocolate cone,” she said giving Draco a pitiful look. “Only I feel bad you have to make it for me. I could just make it myself.”

“Love, I work here. Like it or not. Let me at least do my job. You don’t have to help me,” he said giving her a smile and wondering how he got so lucky to have a friend like her. He hated the rest of them still, but she was okay. She was more than okay, in his book.

“I still feel bad. I wish you would have told me you worked here,” Hermione said softly.

“It’s okay. And I just didn’t want anyone to know. Least of all you,” he said with a sigh.

“What does that mean, least of all her? Why would she really care that much? Even if you are friends, which is weird enough,” Ron asked.

“This is a private conversation, Weaslebee. I’ll get to your order in a minute,” Draco said making a face at Ron.

“Just do your job. I’m sure you’re spectacular at it,” Hermione grinned as she motioned for him to make the desserts.

He just smiled at her and went about his business making everything that was asked for. And he wasn’t even that inept at it anymore. He’d had a lot of practice by now. But he did forget the sprinkles on Ron’s sundae.

“Hey Malfoy, this is supposed to come with sprinkles,” Ron said with a mouthful of ice cream.

“Yeah? We’re all out,” Draco shrugged.

“No you’re not. I can see them right there,” Ron pointed.

“Just eat your fucking sundae before I shove it up your ass,” Draco growled at him. He always liked Ron the least of the group.

“Do you want me to call your boss out here and tell him you’re being mean to me?” Ron wondered.

“Mean to you? I feel like we’re eleven again. Fine, you want your sprinkles? Here’s some sprinkles,” Draco said as he lifted up the tub they were in and dumped them over the counter and all over Ron’s dish and his shoes. “Happy now, Mr. Weasley?”

This time laughter erupted again, but it was really just Hermione and Draco who were laughing. Ginny giggled a little, but Ron and Harry were pissed off. So Hermione’s laughter really rubbed them the wrong way.

“Can we just get out of here?” Ron asked, choosing not to make a scene about being covered in sprinkles. At least he had sprinkles now.

“I do think we should just leave and go sit outside,” Harry nodded.

Hermione and Ginny just sort of went with the flow, but not before Hermione looked at Draco again.

“Pink is your color,” She smiled up at him, while fixing his slightly askew hat.

“You’re a liar,” he grinned at her.

“So are you, Mr. I work at Flourish and Blotts. They’ll soon make me king of their store. Blah, blah, blah,” she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Okay, so we both lie. Just get out of here, will you? I’m all red and blotchy and it’s clashing with my polka dots. I don’t want you to see me this way,” he shoved her shoulder slightly to push her away from the counter.

“We’re gonna have a lot of catching up to do later, mister,” she gave him a stern look.

“Yeah, yeah. Go be with your mates. And send them my vile hatred while you’re at it. I’ll see you later,” he told her motioning her out the door.

She just grinned at him and almost ran into the half open door and smacked herself in the face. She wasn’t being very stealthy about Draco making her lose her mind, and her friends noticed.

“What is with you, Hermione?” Ron asked, noting her goofy smile and her clumsiness.

“Nothing is with me. I can’t believe how you all acted in there! You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Hermione stared them down.

“But this is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” Harry said with a pained expression.

“It really is the funniest thing,” Ron backed Harry up.

Hermione looked at Ginny, who had been mostly quiet the whole time.

“Don’t look at me. I was trying really hard not to laugh! They openly laughed and poked fun. I barely did anything wrong!” she said defensively.

“Ugh, all of you are terrible. Draco is at least trying. Not everyone gets an amazing job right off the bat. Some people have to start lower,” Hermione explained.

“Doesn’t get much lower than Scoopy’s,” Harry chuckled.

“Can we just stop talking about this and leave Draco alone?” Hermione sighed.

“I don’t know why you’re being his great defender. You always hated him just as much as we did. You’re the one who punched him in the face once,” Ron reminded her.

“I know I did. But Draco isn’t the same anymore. None of you would get it because you don’t know him like I do,” she told them.

“Just how chummy are you two? Are you his girlfriend?” Harry asked making a face at her.

“No! Of course not!”

“Well then laugh a little because it’s funny. Lighten up,” Harry sighed.

“Can’t we just leave now? Isn’t Ron’s lunch time over with?” Hermione asked, trying to get off the subject of Draco entirely.

“I’ve still got five minutes and I’m eating this sundae. Did you see how many sprinkles I got?” Ron asked, shoving his dish in Hermione’s face.

“Yes, I saw how many sprinkles you got. They’re all over the floor too,” she sighed.

“I know. See Draco thought he was being a dick to me, but what he didn’t realize was that I love sprinkles and also, he’s the one who has to clean up that mess, not me,” Ron said happily as he took another bite of his dessert.

“So then you wanted him to snap?” Hermione asked giving Ron a dirty look.

He just shrugged.

“I didn’t much care one way or the other, but it’s a lot funnier if he snaps.”

“You all are just big bullies now. I’m ashamed of all of you,” she said wagging her finger at the group.

“Oh come on, Hermione. It’s just a spot of humor. And I barely said a word, so don’t be ashamed of me!” Ginny told her.

“I’m more addressing the boys here, but Ginny you didn’t really do much better. I saw you hiding behind your hands, trying not to laugh.”

“It’s funny! I mean, did you see the outfit?” Ginny finally relented and started busting up laughing.

“Fine. Forget all of you. I’m leaving.” Hermione said and turned on her heel. She had enough of her friends being bullies this time and she just wanted to get away from them.

Sure there was a time when she would have found this scene incredibly funny too. But not any longer. Not when she knew Draco was trying so hard. He just wanted to make a living. And sometimes you had to take jobs that weren’t that great before you landed something suitable. That’s what her friends didn’t want to understand. Mostly because it was funnier for them if they didn’t think about it. And why would they think about it? They didn’t like Draco. But that’s simply because they didn’t know him. And she didn’t know him until recently and it changed everything. But it was too much to hope for that her friends would ever try to befriend Draco. In fact, she still didn’t know why she had done it. It was all a mystery to her. But she found herself wanting to give Draco a hug about this all. She wondered if he’d let her hug him later?

Hermione ran her errands and then she went home to wait for Draco to get off work. She knew she had a while to wait before that happened so she got herself a nice cup of tea and sat down with her book. She was just going to listen for Draco’s door and then she’d go over there. Hopefully he didn’t hold her friends behavior against her. When five thirty rolled around she did hear commotion at Draco’s door and she jumped up to peer out of her peephole at him. He was not wearing the hideous ice cream outfit anymore, but he looked fairly pissed off as he shoved his door open and she noted a bottle of some sort of alcohol under his arm. She frowned a little but she watched him go inside and then she tried to think of an excuse to go knocking. But she didn’t have an excuse so she figured another apology would have to be the excuse. So she went over and knocked on the door. It seemed like a long time before he opened up but when he did he just stared at her.

“Come to get your licks in now? You were strangely quiet this afternoon,” he said with a sigh.

“Of course I’m not here to get licks in on you. I’m here because I’m sorry my friends were such assholes,” she admitted.

“They really were. But I can handle my own. Did you see the way I dumped those sprinkles all over Ron? It was beautiful,” he said dreamily.

“Yeah, and he reminded us you had to clean up that mess when we left.”

“True. I did. But believe me, it was well worth it.”

“Are you gonna let me in?” she wondered quickly.

“Sure,” he motioned for her to come inside.

She found the place still a mess, but this time with a bean bag chair in the middle of the mess. And it wasn’t dark enough yet for candles. So it was just a dim room with a bottle of Firewhiskey sitting on the counter.

She picked up the bottle and held it up.

“Whiskey eh?”

“I deserve it after today. I know it’s kind of expensive, but I had the eight galleons. I’m still not broke. So go me!” he announced as he took the bottle from her hands and opened it up.

“You want glasses?” she asked him, willing to go get one for him.

“Nah, it’s a drink out of the bottle kind of night. Besides I could always pour it into teacups,” he surmised.

“I’m really sorry about my friends,” she said again, unsure what else to say.

“Don’t worry about it. I reckon I had it coming. If any of them worked at Scoopy’s and I was my old self, I would have done the same thing. But I’ve grown. I now have a better appreciation for the service industry. And let me just say, it sucks. Normally I have to be nice to people even when they’re not nice to me. But Mr. Cox doesn’t like people making fun of the uniform, so that’s why he let me wield my polka dot power and threaten to kick you all out,” he chuckled as he took a drink of the whiskey.

“Polka dot power. You’re hilarious,” she said with a grin.

“I do my best. Was there a reason you came over? Or was it just to apologize again? Because if so, there’s no need.”

“I came to apologize, yes. And also I came to try on the pink hat,” she teased him.

“Oh God, fine. It’s in my bag over there. Knock yourself out,” he chuckled slightly.

She went to his bag and rummaged through his stuff until she found the hideous visor hat. She plunked it on her head and modeled it for him.

“How do I look?” she wondered with a grin.

“Stupid. You have way too much hair for that hat. It just kind of floats on top of your head,” he remarked.

“Oh stop. My hair isn’t that big!”

“Yes, it is. At least when you do it. When I do your hair, it looks fantastic,” he stuck his tongue out at her.

“Yeah, well, I can’t always call on you every morning,” she made a face at him.

“You could, you know. If you wanted to. I’d help you. God only knows you’ve helped me with lots of shit,” he noted.

“I appreciate it, but that’s okay,” she said adjusting the visor over her large hairdo.

“Now all you need is the shirt and you could be by my side, living the dream,” he sighed contentedly.

“No thank you,” she said as she took the offensive hat off and set it aside. “Have you eaten supper yet?” she asked, changing the subject.

“I’m having it right now,” he held up his bottle of whiskey.

“That’s not supper. I could order us a pizza if you want? I’m kind of hungry,” she told him.

“Suit yourself. I mean, if you buy it, I’ll eat some. But if you’d rather eat alone, I can certainly drink alone.”

“No, I don’t want you drinking yourself silly. I’ll order us a pizza,” she smiled at him.

She got up and went back to her flat, as Draco didn’t have a phone. And she made the call the take out place. But she gave them Draco’s apartment number. Then she grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass and set off back to his place. He’d left the door cracked for her so she didn’t have to knock, but simply went back in and sat down in the bean bag chair with Draco. They were pretty cozy, yet again, and she kept wondering if he’d ever try to kiss her again. And he was just wondering if she ever wanted him to kiss her in the first place. She seemed pretty happy to be saved from the lift and jumped up awfully quickly. He didn’t want to make a mistake with her. Not after she’d been so nice today. So he kept his hands to himself. But he did note she’d brought wine with her.

“Not drinking the whiskey again, eh?” he asked grabbing her bottle.

“Nope, I’m not in the mood to hurl tonight. But I didn’t want you drinking alone,” she shrugged as she watched him open her bottle for her and pull out his wand to get the cork out. Then he poured her a glass and handed it over.

“This looks like a better bottle than the one I got you,” he noted.

“It is,” she giggled. “I don’t routinely drink three pound bottles.”

“Must be nice. I just keep thinking of all the things I want to get with my paycheck, but then I realized, it’s going to be very small. I’ll probably still be eating frozen burritos for a while,” he sighed.

“Maybe you’ll find a better job?” she offered as she took a sip of her wine.

“What if I never do? What if this is my life forever? Maybe I should just buck it up and get married,” he sighed unhappily as he took another swig of his whiskey.

“Don’t talk like that. You don’t really want to get married do you?” she asked, knowing that it was completely detrimental to her plan to have Draco all to herself. He couldn’t get married now.

“I don’t really want to, but how can I live like this?” he wondered.

“I’ll help you. Once you get paid, we can go shopping and I’ll show you how to be a bargain hunter. It’ll be fun. Just don’t get married,” she said making a little pouty face.

“Oh pouty, look at that lip. Why are you pouting? Do you actually care if I get married or not?” he asked quizzically.

“For your information, I do care. I know it’s not what you want. If it was, you wouldn’t be here right now,” she explained to him, trying not to give her own feelings away.

“I suppose if I got married, I wouldn’t be your wacky neighbor anymore huh?” he grinned at her.

“No, you wouldn’t. And I’ve grown quite fond of you in that role, if you must know.”

“Really now? Fond of me? Or just fond of secretly laughing at my misfortune when I’m not around?” he wondered.

She smacked him on the arm.

“I meant fond of you! I don’t laugh at you behind your back. If I’m going to laugh, I’ll laugh right to your face, Senor Speedy,” she broke out into a fit of giggles.

“Oh great, now I’ll never live that story down. I can’t even believe I told you it!” he laughed along with her.

“You did get better at the sex thing right?” she asked boldly, feeling the wine go straight to her head.

“Who wants to know?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I wanna know! That’s why I asked,” she informed him.

“Yes, I got better. Loads better. Dare I even say incredibly skilled at it. Why do you care?” he asked scooting slightly closer to her in the bean bag chair.

“Because I was just curious. I mean, things got better for me too. It doesn’t hurt. And sometimes stuff happens,” she shrugged, pouring herself another glass of wine.

“Sometimes stuff happens? Honey, you’re not doing it with the right men if it only happens sometimes. It should be happening all the time. More than once. And it should render you speechless,” he said rubbing his hand down her arm and she felt tingles go up her spine at his touch and his words.

“Maybe I haven’t been with the right men?” she squeaked out, their faces almost touching now.

“If I were with you, I’d show you what it’s really supposed to be like,” he added leaning over to kiss her once again.

That is until the pizza man knocked on the door and interrupted them.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Draco muttered, feeling his boner deflate.

Hermione just tried to pull herself together and fanned herself a little because it was getting very hot in the apartment. But she couldn’t stand up right away because the bean bag chair doesn’t let go easily. So Draco had to boost her up by putting his hands on her ass and shoving her upwards. She let out a little cry when he slapped her butt and she gave him a dirty look, even if she actually liked that.

“Don’t give me a dirty look. You know you liked that,” he laughed slightly. “Now go get our pizza!”

She just smoothed down her jeans and her blouse and fluffed up her hair a little to make herself presentable. Then she opened the door and paid for the pizza. But she did it all on autopilot because she was still feeling the slight sting of Draco’s ass slapping. Which meant they had graduated beyond almost kissing to talking dirty to each other and slapping asses. She didn’t know what to do with herself. But she brought the pizza over and sat back down.

“Dinner is served,” she said opening the box. “I’m famished.”

Draco could tell he might have crossed a line slapping her ass, but it seemed like the thing to do. They were talking about sex. Specifically how good he was at doing it. And he saw an opening. What he wouldn’t give to show Hermione exactly what she’s been missing. But right now, she was shoveling pizza in her face and sitting as far away from him as possible. He just sighed and picked up a piece of pizza too.

“It’s really good. Isn’t it really good?” she asked nervously, unsure where this night was heading.

“It’s okay,” he shrugged. Then he looked over at her. “Am I making you nervous?”

“No, of course not. I’m just eating my pizza,” she lied, because he in fact did make her nervous right now. And she wasn’t sure why because this was what she was after. But just knowing it might actually happen made her lose her wits.

He couldn’t tell if he’d upset her or what. He certainly never meant to. But he was feeling a little bad about it so he decided to keep quiet. But when he had to get up to use the loo, Hermione surprised him by smacking his ass. He just turned around and looked at her and noted her smirk.

“Don’t dish it out, if you can’t take it,” she said with a devious smile.

“Oh I see. So I didn’t piss you off?” he asked curiously.

“No. I was just waiting to get you back,” she said smugly.

“You can smack my ass anytime you want, princess,” he grinned at her, before departing to the loo.

Both of their minds were reeling. What was happening here tonight? Draco expected her pity seeing as how she caught him at his horrible job. But he didn’t expect lust to happen. But he wasn’t complaining. It’s just maybe she was kidding around? He didn’t want to have it mean more to him than it did to her. After all, he still hadn’t managed to kiss her yet. Something kept interrupting all the time. It was starting to get ridiculous. But maybe she just couldn’t resist a man in a pink hat and polka dot shirt?

When he came back from the loo, Hermione was sitting in the bean bag chair, looking at an old newspaper. She looked up when he entered.

“Did you know that there was a sale at Bootsie’s Yarn Barn three years ago?” she wondered peering over the paper.

“I did not know that. And sorry, the only papers I have are very old. I don’t have a new subscription to the Prophet. It was my parents subscription,” he remarked, running his hand through his hair.

She tossed the paper aside and scooted over a little to make more room for Draco to sit next to her. Neither of them really knew what was going on, but Draco was at least eager to try and kiss her again. But the mood wasn’t right. They were talking about sales at the Yarn Barn now, and not his sexual prowess. It was a lot harder to slip in a kiss while talking about yarn. But he sat down and put his arm around her shoulders, and she didn’t stop him.

“Sorry to leave you bored, but nature called,” he said wondering if he could somehow mention his cock in all this. Just to get her interested again. But he didn’t want to be crude and scare her off. Still he was wanting to get the mood back. “So what we were talking about before the pizza man rudely interrupted us?”

“Um, I think we were talking about how you’d show me what sex was supposed to be, since you’re so great at it now, Senor Speedy,” she giggled.

“Hey now, no using that name. The only thing speedy about sex with me is how fast I can make you scream,” he said giving her a smoldering look.

“Really now? You always did like to brag. I bet you’re not even that great,” she scoffed turning her nose up at him. But she did in fact hope he was that great. She wanted to find out for herself.

“I’ll show you how great I am. Take off your clothes!” he ordered her, feeling slighted that she didn’t believe how good he was.

“Take off my clothes? How about no?” she rolled her eyes at him.

“How am I supposed to prove myself if you won’t get naked?” he wondered.

“I’m not sleeping with you, so forget it,” she shook her head.

But she had no idea why these words were coming out of her mouth. She did want to sleep with him. But for some reason his smugness about it all made it less appealing. What if it really wasn’t good? Would she fake it or tell him the truth? Sometimes if you talked about something enough, you made it seem scarier to try.

“Fine, I didn’t wanna sleep with you anyway,” he made a face at her, the belied the truth of the matter.

“Good because it’s never happening,” she turned up her nose at him.

“Good.”

“Great.”

“Fantastic.”

“Can you just be kissing me now?” she asked desperately, unable to keep up the charade.

He looked at her and smiled and grabbed her up in his arms. This time nothing was going to stop him, no matter what. If someone knocked, they could just keep knocking. He was kissing this girl whether anyone else liked it or not. He leaned down and planted his lips on hers and he felt sweet bliss. Her lips were full and soft and she tasted like wine a little bit. And for her part, she normally hated the way whiskey tasted, but when it was on his lips, she enjoyed every second of the experience. They kissed and kissed and everything grew more fervent until Hermione finally pulled back for air.

“Oh my God, I can’t breathe,” she said fanning herself again.

“Neither can I. But that’s what makes it so perfect,” he said, pulling her closer to him again.

“How long have you been wanting to kiss me like that?” she asked breathlessly.

“A long time. How long have you been wishing I’d kiss you?” he wondered just as breathlessly.

“A long time.”

“Then why’d we wait?”

“Because the timing was never right.”

“But it’s right now? I mean, I could show you some things…” he trailed off as he ran his hand down her arm and grabbed up a fistful of her hair as he kissed her again.

She was lost in the kisses and really wanted to know what else he could do that was as satisfying as kissing him was. But she figured it was still too soon for them to take things to a new level. After all, they’d just now kissed. So she pulled back again and caught her breath.

“I should probably leave,” she whispered softly.

“What? Why?” he was confused.

“Because we can’t do this,” she said shaking her head.

“Why not?”

“My friends would never understand,” she admitted, wishing she didn’t care what they thought.

“Sod your friends. Who cares? You need to stop worrying about them. They can kiss our asses,” he told her self-assuredly.

“True. They could. It’s just no one will understand this,” she pointed out.

“So? I’m not trying to impress anyone. Are you?”

“No.”

“Then shut up and keep kissing me,” he told her, grabbing her into another kiss.

Soon Hermione’s feeble protests wouldn’t even come out of her mouth anymore. She wanted this. And it didn’t do any good to worry about her friends or if it was too soon. She just wanted him. So she kissed her way up the side of his neck and whispered in his ear.

“Let’s go to your bedroom,” she told him.

“Say no more! Get your cute ass up out of this chair,” he said eagerly, pulling her up with him. “I’m going to show you things you’ve never even dreamed.”

Her heart skipped a beat and she wondered what that really meant. What was Draco going to do? She didn’t know, but she was dying to find out.

They entered his bedroom and he told her to sit tight while he lit some candles, as it was starting to get a little dark in the room. Plus he wanted it to be romantic. So he flung his dirty clothes off the bed and into a pile on the floor. Then he grabbed Hermione up and kissed her again.

“God, you’re a good kisser. I never imagined that when I used to make fun of you for so long,” he uttered in the throes of lust.

“Yeah, well I never imagined what it’d be like to kiss you at all. I’d sooner die,” she chuckled into his kiss.

“Me too. I hated you.”

“I hated you more.”

And with that, they fell on the bed and were soon divested of all their clothes. Just as promised, Draco was a very attentive lover and made sure she enjoyed herself thoroughly before he even got started on himself. She was already weak in the knees and out of breath when he finally just thrust himself inside her. And much to her delight, it wasn’t over in three seconds. Draco really was skilled. He wasn’t lying. And she just giggled to herself when she thought of all that Pansy missed out on.

“What’s funny?” he asked as he rolled off of her and lay on his back.

“Nothings funny. Sorry. I sometimes laugh when I’m happy for no real reason,” she explained.

“So was that something you’d write home about, or what?” he asked giving her shoulder a little nip with his teeth.

“If I had a home to write to, then yes. I’d tell my mum. She’d hate me for doing that, but it’s too good not to tell someone,” she told him as she kissed his earlobe and bit down.

“Hmm, yeah, if I had someone to tell, I’d tell them too. But alas, I don’t even have a pet. The only person I’d want to tell was you, and you were there,” he chuckled slightly.

“You could tell your mouse teacup all about it?” she offered.

“I really should turn that thing back into a mouse eh?” he pondered.

“Probably.”

“I’ll worry about it later. Are you ready for round two?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Two? I’m barely able to handle one,” she noted. But then she looked at him deviously. “I could go another round though”

And with that, he climbed back on top of her and ravished her until she couldn’t see straight anymore. Obviously the pretense of just being friends was out the window now, but Hermione wondered what would really happen next. They were so different and they used to be enemies. Would they actually become boyfriend and girlfriend? Or was that hoping too hard? It could have just been a fun time. But either way, it was the best time she’d ever had. And she just hoped she got to experience it over and over again because she wasn’t eager to let Draco go now. Not now, and not ever. Anyone who didn’t like it, would just have to deal with it. And Draco silently seconded that motion, because he had been warring with himself too about what happened next too. But the truth was, he was falling for Hermione big time. He thought of no one else most days. And he couldn’t wait to see her face every time she came to his door or he’d think of excuses just to go to her door. And now they had taken things to a new level. One he never dreamed they’d be at. But if anyone in his old life had a problem with it, they could take a flying leap. Draco was falling in love with Hermione Granger and nothing could stop it.

To be continued….


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione grow closer and explore their relationship.

The next morning, Hermione woke up in Draco’s bed and for a second she forgot why she was there. But then it all came rushing back at her, and she smiled to herself. The night before had been amazing. So far beyond what she ever imagined, that she had no idea how Draco could still be single. Sure his parents wanted to marry him off, but she didn’t understand how he hadn’t already found a girl on his own. But then again, maybe he didn’t really want a girlfriend? She was back to wondering if maybe what they shared was just a fun time and nothing more. She felt slightly embarrassed if that was the case, because she wasn’t used to jumping into bed with random people just for fun. It wasn’t in her nature. But maybe it was his nature? She just rolled over away from him a little and contemplated what everything might or might not mean. But Draco felt her stirring and he woke up himself. He opened his eyes and saw Hermione curled on the edge of his bed and he rolled over and put his arms around her.

“Good morning, princess,” he whispered in her ear as he kissed her neck.

She immediately smiled and turned her head to face him.

“Good morning, yourself,” she said sleepily.

“Mmm, I thought I dreamt last night, but no, you’re still here,” he said happily.

“Of course I’m still here. Unless you want for me to go?” she asked cautiously.

“Go? Why would I want you to go? It’s my day off. I’m ready for another round, aren’t you?” he said as he nipped her neck with his teeth and sucked the sweet spot below her ear and it sent chills up her spine.

“Really? Another round? You’re not sick of me yet?” she asked, trying not to like his touch as much as she did.

He grabbed her up and turned her over to face him. He looked her deep in the eyes.

“Hermione, I could never get sick of you. Do you think I do this with just anyone?” he asked seriously.

“Um, yes. Maybe? I don’t know. I have no idea honestly. I mean, you are good at it, which would make one assume you’ve done it a million times. So you tell me. Do you do this with just anyone?” she challenged him.

He sighed and shook his head. Then it was him who let go of her and sat up and ran his hands through his hair.

“Just because I’ve done this enough times to be good at it, doesn’t mean I’m some sort of man whore. I don’t just do it with anyone who comes along. Hell, I never even slept with Astoria,” he told her.

“Astoria?”

“Yeah, the girl I was supposed to marry. Remember her? I took her out and dated her a little, but I never slept with her. She didn’t make the cut. That’s why I had to break up with her and ruin my father’s plans,” he explained.

“Why didn’t she make the cut? Was she ugly?” Hermione asked curiously.

He laughed slightly.

“No, she wasn’t ugly. She just wasn’t my type. Too bottled up and no fun at all. Plus she wasn’t that smart. I like a smart woman,” he said, running his hand down her arm gently.

“I’m smart,” she whispered with a little grin on her face.

“Yes, you are. And funny. And a blast to hang out with. And you’re nice to me. Most of the time. At least when we’re not arguing. But I kinda like the arguing too. It gives us fire and passion. And we proved last night that there’s a lot of passion between us,” he said giving her a good kiss.

He was determined to let Hermione know how special she was to him, but he was too afraid to tell her he was falling in love with her. It felt too soon. And he was nervous. He didn’t want her to get scared or to laugh at him. Especially with how weird she was being about wondering if any of this meant anything to him. He just assumed she knew deep down how he felt. And he supposed it would simple it all up to just lay it on the line and tell her his true feelings, but he just wasn’t ready yet. He only hoped that what he did say was enough to appease her.

Once they finished their lingering kiss, Hermione had almost forgotten her own name again, along with all her fears. Draco didn’t want her to leave and he was acting like it did mean something, so she felt comfortable again getting lost in his kisses. But she wished she knew how deep his feelings ran. Because her feelings were quickly turning into something bigger than even she anticipated. She looked at him and pulled him down next to her and snuggled up to him.

“I guess we do have a lot of passion, huh?” she said quietly.

“A whole lot. And I’ll show you again if you want me to?” he asked, letting his hands roam across her breasts as he let his nimble fingers play with her nipples.

She closed her eyes and moaned slightly, as her breasts were a highly erogenous zone for her. And he knew it. He was driving her crazy, until she had no more questions to ask him. She didn’t care really if it was just for fun or not, because it was so good.

She felt him kissing his way down her neck until he reached her breasts and began exploring them with his tongue as he sucked a nipple into his mouth. She let out a cry and grabbed his head to push him down further into her breast, as her eyes rolled back in her head. Then he stopped sucking and raised his head slightly to look at her.

“Should we keep talking about all this or should I just keep going?” he wondered giving her a smoldering gaze.

“Um, I think you should just keep going,” she uttered as she grabbed his head again and forced it down to her breast.

He just smiled to himself and realized Hermione was putty in his hands. And she was not shy about what she liked, which was good for him because it made him that much more aware of what to do to her to drive her mad with lust. And he knew something else she liked a lot, so he broke free from her desperate hold on his head and kissed his way downward and climbed under the sheets until his mouth found the sweet spot between her legs. He pushed them apart roughly and immediately began licking and sucking on her most vulnerable place. She cried out and let the feeling consume her as Draco expertly worked her over. She was in heaven. And if she didn’t get to be his girlfriend after all this, she was going to be mad. Who would ever be satisfied not doing this every morning? She wanted Draco for herself so this could keep happening forever. She rode her wave of bliss and came hard in record time. And before she could even catch her breath, Draco had positioned himself above her and thrust deep inside her. She could feel her walls clench again and she rode the waves of ecstasy that followed as he kept going. They were a tangle of limbs and lips and tongues, hands caressing and grabbing sensitive spots. It was pure bliss and Hermione felt like her body was one giant nerve ending. When Draco was finally done, he spilled himself into her and collapsed on top of her in utter pleasure. It was hard for him to keep himself from blurting out that he loved her, but he refrained.

He just caught his breath and rolled off of her and held her hand tightly as they both recovered themselves from their coupling. He finally kissed her hand and rolled to his side and began playing with her hair.

“You know, you look like someone stuck your finger in a light socket,” he teased her as he got his hand caught in all her hair in its bushy glory.

She slapped his chest playfully.

“Be quiet. It’s your fault my hair looks like that!”

“I know. You do look thoroughly fucked, Ms. Granger. And blissfully satisfied too. I should get an award,” he said smugly.

“An award? For fucking? I don’t think there is such a thing,” she giggled at him.

“There should be. And it should come with prize money too so I can quit Scoopy’s and be a spoiled rich brat again,” he sighed.

“No, I don’t want you to be a spoiled brat again,” she pouted.

“But I’m so good at it. I’m much better at being spoiled than I am working for a living. I never realized how much I truly hate ninety percent of the population until I had to serve them ice cream in a polka dotted shirt,” he lamented.

“You’ll eventually find something else. Trust me. You don’t wanna go back to being spoiled,” she insisted.

“Why? You didn’t like me much then eh?”

“No, I didn’t. You were a prat.”

“And now? What am I now?” he wondered curiously.

“You’re pretty cool. I mean, you still get on my nerves a lot, but oddly enough, I find it endearing now. I used to just find you a horrid person. But I see now that you’re actually a decent bloke underneath all the machismo you used to throw around,” she explained.

“Well then I guess I’ll stick to being this guy. I don’t want you to go back to hating me. Not now. I don’t think I could bear it, honestly,” he admitted.

“I like you just as you are. Even if you’re poor and drink tea out of mice teacups, and you work at Scoopy’s. None of that matters to me. Your money never impressed me anyway,” she told him seriously.

He laughed slightly.

“I don’t drink out of the mouse teacup anymore, for your information. And really? You aren’t impressed by money?” he asked with genuine confusion. To him, money had always been everything. And he assumed everyone always envied his position in life. At least before he was penniless.

“I really never cared about your money, Draco. It only made you ugly. Now you have some humility and it makes you that much more human. I like this new Draco a hundred times better. Trust me,” she informed him.

He just kissed her and held her close to him and thought about what she was saying. She was trying to tell him that she actually liked him the way he was and for what he was, and no one had ever said that to him before. Even his old friends didn’t really seem to actually like him. They just wanted the prestige of being friends with a Malfoy. Hermione was the first person to ever say that she liked him just the way he was, even without money. It warmed her to his heart even more than what he was already feeling. Finally after they cuddled in silence for a bit, Hermione wanted to take a shower and get out of bed. He reluctantly agreed, but once they got into the shower, he couldn’t help but attack her once again because she was all naked and soapy. He picked her up and shoved her against the shower wall and pounded her until her screams of pleasure permeated the entire bathroom and echoed off the walls. Needless to say, they got clean, but not without getting really dirty first. And by the time they exited the shower, the water had gone cold entirely. Hermione just looked at Draco and smiled as she dried herself off with a towel.

“You sir, are insatiable,” she told him.

“So are you. I didn’t see you stopping me,” he reminded her as he flicked his towel at her butt like a whip and left a red mark.

“Ouch! You cretin! Why’d you do that?” she cried as she laughed at the same time.

“Your cute ass needs to be spanked. And I’m the guy to do that,” he said wagging his eyebrows at her.

“You’re awful,” she turned up her nose at him.

“And you love it,” he smiled at her and kissed her roughly.

It took them another twenty minutes to get dried off because they kept stopping to grope each other and smack each other’s asses just for the sport of it. It became a war as to who could slap the hardest, and Draco had to concede defeat because when Hermione put her mind to it, she packed a mean smack. His ass was red, but so was hers. And they both burst out laughing when Hermione got her final smack in. He grabbed his ass and rubbed it.

“Damn woman! Remind me again that I don’t wanna be on the receiving end of your smacks. Who taught you how to hit?” he asked her playfully.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do it so hard. We were playing! And I’m self-taught, if you must know,” she informed him.

“Well I don’t wanna be on your bad side again. If this is how you smack my ass in good fun, then I’d hate to see what you’d do to me if I wronged you again,” he chuckled as he wrapped the towel around his waist and kissed her nose.

“Duly noted. I’ll reign myself in better next time,” she said sheepishly as she wrapped the towel around her nakedness too.

“Don’t be silly. I loved it. God, it just shows how fiery your personality is. My ass can take it,” he told her as he grabbed her and kissed her one more time.

She just smiled at him and realized that this was the first time anyone had ever complimented the fiery side of her personality. Usually people called her shrill or annoying, but not Draco. Not this time anyway. And she liked that she could be silly with him too. She noted that they just seemed to get each other and it was the best feeling in the world. When they got back out in the room, Hermione put on her old clothes again, but looked at Draco who was dressing in fresh clothes.

“I need to go home and get new clothes. And you’re probably fixing to do something fun today since it’s your day off,” she noted, not wanting to invite herself along if he wished to be alone.

But that was a stupid thought, because he definitely didn’t want to be alone. And he told her so.

“Don’t be crazy. I have nothing planned. What kind of fun can a person have with only six galleons to his name?” he chuckled.

“True. But I don’t want you to feel obligated to be with me today if you wanted to do something else,” she said looking at her feet.

He lifted her head up and looked her in the eye.

“I wanna spend the day with you. I don’t care what we do, because it’ll be fun since we’re together.”

“Really?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes, really. Now if you want new clothes, that’s fine. I’ll come to yours and help you pick something out. And do your hair for you again, since you like it when I do that,” he smiled broadly at her.

“You wanna pick out my clothes and do my hair? Is there something I should know about you, like you wanna be my gay best friend?” she giggled at him.

“Bite your tongue. I’m not gay. I just like clothes and let’s face it, your hair needs my help,” he smirked at her.

She ran her hands through the damp mess and couldn’t argue with him.

“Alright. Let’s go to my place and make me presentable shall we?” she offered him her hand and he took it.

They exited his flat and went into hers, and Crookshanks was waiting and very upset that he didn’t get fed the night before. Hermione forgot seeing as how she was so busy being ravished by Draco. So she remedied his empty food dish and then they went to her room to pick an outfit and do her hair. Once they were done with that, Draco wanted to know what it was Hermione was planning for her day, so he could tag along at least.

“I didn’t have a firm plan,” she admitted. “But I am hungry. We could get breakfast? My treat,” she smiled at him.

“Alright. If you honestly don’t mind. I could just have coffee,” he offered.

“Don’t be silly. You must have worked up quite an appetite just like me. I don’t mind,” she waved her hand in the air.

“You know, it was gonna be a surprise, but when I get paid, I’m taking you to dinner. A nice one. Maybe even steak? I really want a fucking steak,” he said dreamily.

She laughed at him and shook her head.

“You don’t have to take me out to steak. I’d be fine with a burger or something,” she told him.

“Nonsense. I realize my paycheck is going to be smaller than I’m dreaming it’ll be, but if you can’t treat yourself at least once, then what’s the point in working so hard?” he asked her.

“True. I do like to reward myself with something when I get paid. Usually it’s a new book or a pair of shoes,” she noted.

“See? So you get it. We’ll eat steak. Maybe not from the best place in town, but from a decent enough part of town that it’ll satisfy me. I just don’t want you to think I’m a mooch trying to live off of you. I wanna be able to spoil you a little too. After all you’ve done for me, it’s the least I can do.”

“You’re really sweet, Draco. I shall look forward to it,” she said as she kissed him. 

Then they set off to a diner to eat a nice greasy breakfast of eggs and potatoes with sides of bacon and sausage. It tasted heavenly to both of them as they really had worked up an appetite. They also talked about what else they should do since they had the whole day ahead of them. They were trying to come up with really cheap or free ideas and Draco wasn’t very good at it. He had trouble thinking of what to do that didn’t cost a lot of money. But Hermione suggested they go to a park and just hang out together in the nice summer air. Draco thought it sounded boring, but she reminded him that he said anything would be fun if they were together.

“Come on, you said you didn’t care what we did,” she told him.

“I know. It’s just a park is for children, isn’t it? What will we do if we don’t play on the slides or the swings?” he wondered.

She giggled at him.

“You wanna play on the slides and the swings? No one’s stopping you.”

He made a face at her.

“I’m twenty three years old. I can’t play on the playground anymore without looking like a moron.”

“So? You’ll never see those Muggles again. I for one would love to watch you play like a five year old,” she smiled at him.

“Ha-ha. I’m not doing that. But if I’m allowed to make fun of people at the park, I’ll go,” he told her.

“You wanna make fun of people?”

“Yes. I violently dislike the human race right now. It’ll make me feel better.”

“Fine. If that’s what’ll make you happy…”

“It will. So where’s a park to go to?” he asked happily.

“I know of one. It’s not far. Let me just pay the bill and we can go,” she said, pulling money out of her purse.

They left the restaurant and headed to the park. It was a beautiful day and she figured it would be crowded there. She wished they’d brought a blanket to sit on, but they’d make due with the grass. They got to the park and it was incredibly full of people like she assumed it’d be, but they found an empty spot under a big oak tree. They sat down together and took off their shoes so they could properly be comfortable in the heat. They were just glad to be in the shade.

“So when you were a wee lad, did your parents take you to a park like this?” she wondered curiously.

“My parents? Are you kidding me? My father would never even dare to venture out into Muggle land like this. There was a little park near my old house. Magical people only. I wasn’t allowed to mingle with Muggles at all,” he informed her.

“That’s kind of sad. Obviously I grew up as a Muggle so I went to places like this a lot,” she said to him.

“It’s not really sad. I still had fun. Trust me. I just can’t imagine what your life was like growing up Muggle,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Is it really so off putting and upsetting to you? I know you used to think I was scum for it and call me names,” she admitted somewhat sadly at the memories.

“I know I was horrible. I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t think bad things about you anymore, I promise. It’s just that I’m still a fish out of water here in the city. And it’s hard for me to imagine growing up amongst all these Muggles. It just wasn’t the way of things in my house. I’m only now just learning this stuff. Like Muggles have some cool shit that my parents never told me about,” he admitted to her.

“Like what cool stuff?”

“The telly. And a vast array of music that’s not just three bands on one wizard radio station. Plus football. Now I still think Quidditch is so much better than that, but football? No complaints from me. I’d love to learn how to play that someday,” he said dreamily.

“I used to play football when I was a little kid. I was pretty good at it. I kicked all the other little girls asses. I was the star player,” she said proudly.

“Really? I never pegged you for a sporty type. Why didn’t you play Quidditch too?” he wondered.

She shrugged.

“The older I got, the less interested I became in it. Studies were more important. I guess by the time I was at Hogwarts, I didn’t want to waste a single second of my time on anything other than my homework.”

He chuckled and shook his head.

“Liar. You had plenty of fucking time to be running around attacking trolls and setting Hippogriffs free and trying to save the world. Where was your homework then?”

“Okay, so I might have had time to do other things. But I still did my homework! And for your information, I never attacked the troll. It tried to attack me. And the Hippogriff thing? That was your fault,” she reminded him.

“My fault? It attacked me! It tried to eat my arm off! It deserved to die,” he said indignantly.

“It did not try to eat your arm off. It took a little nip. And you had it coming because you didn’t respect it! Me and Harry couldn’t let Buckbeak die,” she shot back at him.

“I always knew you two were behind that whole thing! Now you’ve confirmed it for me. How did you do it?” he wanted to know.

“I’m not telling. It’s a secret. And it’s incredibly complicated to explain. Let’s just say we had our ways,” she said nonchalantly.

“Tell me how you did it or I’m gonna start tickling you right here in the park in front of everyone,” he threatened her.

“No fair! I do not want to be tickled!”

“Then spill it! I need to know this story because it’s plagued me for years.”

“Fine, fine. I had a time turner okay? We used that to go back in time in order to save Buckbeak. We took him and set him free before anyone could come kill him. But it was so not easy. In fact, we almost died. But we still got the job done. And that’s all I’m going to say about that,” she said with a sigh.

“A time turner? Who gave you a time turner?” he was confused.

“McGonagall did. It’s a long story. But I gave it back. I don’t still have it or anything,” she told him.

“You and your friends always got special treatment, you realize? It’s no wonder I hated you,” he said shaking his head.

“You were jealous of us. Admit it. You wished you got special treatment too,” she said haughtily.

“What of it? Of course I was jealous! Who wouldn’t be? It was supposed to be you guys who were jealous of me,” he scoffed.

“Please. Why would we ever be jealous of you?” she wondered.

“Because I’m the one who was supposed to have it all! I just assumed everyone envied me. But you guys never did,” he said somewhat dejectedly. “And now, look at me? I’m nothing. For real this time. I’m utterly nothing.”

She stopped ribbing him and noticed he was honestly depressed about this. She patted him on the back lightly.

“There, there, Draco. It’ll be okay. I’m sure lots of people did envy you in school,” she tried to comfort him.

“But now they wouldn’t. I’m totally useless now,” he bemoaned.

“You are not! Don’t talk like that. Life isn’t a contest anyway. You’re not supposed to envy people or have people envy you. You’re just supposed to live. And the right people will gravitate to you no matter what. That’s what life is actually about,” she explained it to him.

“Really? Well then life sucks harder than I thought it did,” he pouted.

“No pouting. And no being depressed! This is our fun day out. And you haven’t even made a single rude comment about any of the people here. I thought that’s what you wanted to do?” she reminded him.

“Yeah, I did want to do that. That’s true. I mean, my life is in ruins, but at least I know how to dress. Do you see that man over there wearing knee socks with sandals? Does he not own a mirror?” Draco said with a small smirk, trying to get out of his funk.

“That’s the spirit. See? Other people have it worse than you do. At least you’re pretty and fashionable, right?” she tried to get him to see the bright spot.

“I don’t know if I’d use the word pretty to describe me. I was thinking more of devilishly handsome,” he said giving her a small smile.

“You are devilishly handsome then. And you know how to do hair really good. Look at me. I look fabulous right now,” she said, fluffing up her perfectly coiffed hairdo.

He leaned over and kissed her.

“You’re beautiful. And that’s not just my doing. You were already beautiful. Now you just have better hair,” he grinned.

“Thanks. I wish my hair was as nice as yours, but not all of us are blessed,” she made a face at him.

“That’s why I’m here in a pinch. I’ll help you be the best you can be.”

“You’re such a dork,” she teased him.

“I know. And yet you’re still into me. Guess you have weird taste in men. I mean, it would explain why you were ever with Ron of all people. Talk about a charity case. Did he pay you to be his girlfriend? Oh wait, he has no money,” Draco said rudely.

She smacked him on the arm.

“Be quiet! You don’t have any money either, dumbass. Besides, I happen to think I have good taste in men,” she scoffed.

“Really? Then what are you doing with me?” he joked.

“I have no idea.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Lucky me though. I get to have you all to myself now. And you let me do wicked things to you, which is a bonus. Think we could shag behind this tree?” he offered with a smirk.

“We are not shagging behind the tree. Save something for later. Aren’t there more people out there for you to mock and laugh at to make yourself feel better?” she wondered.

“Fine. Be a spoil sport. I guess you’re not into public displays of affection then,” he sighed.

“I am too! I don’t mind kissing you or holding your hand, but shagging in a park with a bunch of children around? That’s insane and will get us arrested,” she reminded him.

“I don’t wanna be arrested. That would just be the topper of my life to be thrown in Muggle prison and end up with a new boyfriend named Billy Joe Tate the axe murdering psycho,” he told her.

She started laughing and shook her head.

“I don’t think you’d go to prison with serial killers. They’d just put us in the local jail and give us a fine or something. Which need I remind you, you wouldn’t be able to pay,” she said to him.

“Alright, I get it. No shagging in the park. But kissing is fine, so I’m gonna kiss you,” he said as he leaned over and grabbed her into his arms and kissed her really good.

“If you keep kissing me like this, I’m gonna want to run home instead of sit here,” she whispered between kisses.

“Hmm, really? Maybe I should keep going then?”

But they were interrupted when a child accidentally kicked their ball too hard and it hit Draco in the head. He pulled back abruptly and glared in the direction of the offender.

“What the fuck?” he complained to Hermione as he grabbed the ball and held the side of his head.

“Sorry! That’s mine!” a child of about nine or ten came running up.

“Watch where you’re kicking this thing!” Draco said angrily.

“Calm down Draco. It was an accident,” Hermione tugged on his arm.

“Accident my ass. You were aiming for my head!” he accused the child.

“Listen mister, you weren’t even looking at me so how would you know I was aiming for you?” the kid challenged him.

“Mister? You call me mister? It’s sir to you. And I just know these things. If you want your ball back, you will ask me properly and apologize like you actually mean it,” Draco said sternly.

The kid sighed and put his hands on hips.

“Sir may I have my ball? I’m very sorry it hit you,” he said trying to appease Draco.

“Fine. Have it back. But if it comes near me again, I’m keeping it!” Draco said throwing the ball back to him and shaking his head. When the kid ran off, Draco looked at Hermione. “Can you believe how rude that was?”

“Actually I can. And you were the rude one. He’s just a kid! Cut him some slack. God, you’re so much like your father sometimes,” she said shaking her head.

“What? I thought you said before that I wasn’t like him. What did I do wrong? I’m the one who got hit in the head with a ball!” he said defensively.

“I know, it’s just, you didn’t have to be so mean to the kid. I highly doubt he meant to hit you. Relax a little, will you?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was being rude too. I just don’t like children much. I don’t know how to talk to them properly, so I guess I do just talk to them how my father would. It’s all I know,” he admitted feeling a little chastised by Hermione pointing out his flaws.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just forget it, okay? Hey, if you wanna be mean, take a gander at that bloke over there wearing the rainbow colored suspenders with matching socks. Fashion nightmare,” she giggled, trying to get Draco in a better mood.

He glanced over to where she was discreetly pointing and he realized it was the perfect distraction. The man looked like an idiot, which just made Draco laugh.

“Oh my God. Is he a clown? Or is this 1975 all over again? No one would wear those.”

“Apparently he would. And I think he’s also wearing a toupee. His hair looks like it’s floating on his head. I’m afraid if one big gust of wind came by, it might hit me in the face,” she told him, trying to stifle her giggles.

“It has to be a toupee. No one has hair like that. He might as well just wear a powdered wig since that’s a tad more realistic than what he’s got going on,” Draco laughed.

“Oh my…we’re horrible people, aren’t we? We shouldn’t be making fun of innocent bystanders,” Hermione said feeling guilty.

“Yeah, but they’ll never know. It’s not like I’d say anything to their faces. I have more manners than that. Like that kid was a bit portly and I didn’t say a word about it. I’m proud of me actually,” he beamed.

“Wow, you’re so amazing for not calling a kid a fatass,” she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Oh come on. You know you were thinking it too,” he jostled her arm.

“So? Polite, normal people don’t immediately think about how they can insult someone. You just automatically keep your mouth shut! It’s not worthy of kudos,” she explained to him.

“Well in my world, it is. But I think we’ve established that the world I grew up in was very different than the one everyone else grew up in. Maybe I still have more to learn?” he offered up.

“You do have more to learn. But that’s why I’m here. To teach you. You do my hair and give me orgasms, and I show you how to not be a dick to small children and people in general,” she shrugged.

“What would I do without you?” he asked giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“You’d be very hungry right now and probably still drinking tea out of a mouse. So I think I’ve been good for you,” she smiled at him.

“God, seriously, without you, I’d be lost right now. So thank you. I don’t even know why you spoke to me at all when I moved in, but I’m thankful for it,” he said sincerely, touching her cheek.

“Well at first I was just insanely curious why you were slumming it with me in my building. But then you kinda grew on me,” she admitted.

“I’m glad you were nosy then. Otherwise I probably never would have spoken to you at all.”

“I guess things happened as they were supposed to,” she smiled. Then, “So do you wanna go down that really big slide with me or what?”

He laughed at her and shook his head.

“No, I don’t wanna go down the slide. We’re the adults of the park, not children.”

“So? I’ll race you there,” she said as she jumped to her feet and started to take off running.

“No fair! You cheated! You got a head start!” Draco called after her as he jumped up and started running too.

They both made it to the slide, but Hermione had a big lead on him. She waited at the bottom of the stairs though and then she grabbed his hand and ushered them up to the top, pushing past kids and parents who were watching their kids. They didn’t pay attention to any of that. They just wanted to get to the slide. Once they did, Hermione sat down and Draco sat behind her and put his arms around her waist. Then they shoved off and swirled around in the slide until they were spit out at the bottom unceremoniously. They got sand in their mouths and all over their clothes, but they were laughing incredibly hard. Hermione helped Draco up and scooted them out of the way.

“See now, wasn’t that fun?” she asked breathlessly.

“It was fun. I’d forgotten how much fun it could be,” he admitted with a grin.

“Shall we go again?” she asked.

He nodded and they both ran up the stairs together again and got lost in their juvenile fun. If people were staring at them, they didn’t notice. They were too busy having fun. And when they got tired out, they returned to their tree and plopped back down again, both tuckered out.

“I need a nap now,” Hermione yawned as she snuggled under Draco’s arm.

“Me too, I think. Playing is hard work,” he laughed.

“It is! But I had fun. Did you?” she looked up at him.

“I did. Thanks for letting me get my inner child out. I feel much better and not at all bitter against the world at the moment. In fact, the birds are singing a little sweeter right now, and it’s all because of you,” he told her as he planted a kiss on her waiting lips.

It was the most fun Draco had had since he got kicked out of his mansion. Even if it was juvenile and silly, it was just what he needed to feel better. Not everything was about money. Sometimes you could still have fun and enjoy life for free. Hermione was showing him that. And he was thankful. Sometimes he just needed to be reminded of the old saying, the best things in life are free. Sometimes it was about the company you kept and not what you could buy. It was a hard lesson for him to learn, but she was helping him muddle through it all and hopefully be a better person after all was said and done. All he knew was that she made him want to be a better person. And no one else ever did that before. She was special. For her, he’d do anything.

After they both agreed they were tired, they decided to head home They’d had enough of the park for one day. They got to their building and trudged up the stairs, as the lift was now permanently out of order it seemed. But once they got to their respective doors, Draco grabbed her up and kissed her roughly.

“I think we should nap at my place, don’t you think?” he asked between kisses.

“Mmm, yeah, nap. We should totally nap. I’m so tired,” she said kissing him again.

“Me too. I could probably nap for a good two hours straight at least.”

“So could I.”

He kissed her again then looked at her quizzically.

“We are talking about shagging aren’t we? Because I don’t really know if I could take an actual nap,” he told her.

She started laughing and nodded her head.

“Yes, we’re talking about shagging. At least I was.”

“Okay good. Let’s have at it then, shall we?” he said giving her a smoldering look.

They kissed again and he fumbled with the key but when he went to stick it in the lock, the door just fell open. It wasn’t closed the entire way and they sort of tumbled into the apartment and almost fell over.

“What the hell? I know I locked it,” Draco said as they managed to right themselves and straighten up a little.

“Maybe you forgot?” she offered.

“No, it was locked. Have I been burgled?” he whispered to Hermione, suddenly growing worried.

“Well I don’t see anything missing. But you didn’t have anything to steal really. Unless the burglar wanted a tea set?” she pointed out.

“Right. I must have forgotten to lock it. Never mind. Where were we?” he asked getting back into the mood again.

They ended up tumbling into the bean bag chair on top of each other and were making out like fiends until they heard a noise and a startled gasp and they both got scared and broke apart quickly. They looked up and found Draco’s mother standing in the kitchen looking horrified. Hermione just stared at her, but Draco hurriedly jumped up and faced her.

“Mother? What on earth are you doing here?” he asked with astonishment.

“What exactly is going on in here? Is that the Granger girl?” Narcissa asked with some slight horrification.

“Yes Mum, it’s Hermione. We call her Hermione now. And you didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?” he asked again.

“I’ve come to bring you home,” she said trying to look away from Hermione and back at her son.

“What? Bring me home? I’m not marrying Astoria, if that’s what you expect. I already told you and Father both where I stand on that,” he said firmly.

“I know. It’s just I couldn’t bear to have you living in this place and I convinced your father to let you come back,” she explained.

“What? And he agreed? What are the terms?” he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Well, you just have to get married within a year. To someone you choose this time. That’s all Draco. Just get married and we’ll all be happy,” she pleaded with him.

“I can marry whomever I choose?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well it has to be someone suitable, Draco. I don’t know what I interrupted here, but that won’t be happening again,” she said with her nose in the air. “Just forget whatever this dalliance of desperation this is, and come home with me.”

Draco looked at Hermione who was now standing in the corner by the window looking like she wanted to jump out of it. He could tell she was starting to get teary eyed and it upset him. But then he looked at his mum and her pleading eyes and he thought of how much easier and better life would be if he didn’t work at Scoopy’s anymore and wasn’t broke. He didn’t know what to do really. He had no reasons to want to stay in London except for Hermione. And it was awfully tempting to go back to his old lifestyle. But he still had to find someone to marry and apparently Hermione was not suitable in his parent’s eyes. That was troublesome, though not unexpected. But he didn’t want to marry anyone right now really. He didn’t understand why it was so important for him to do so. But he looked at his mum and looked at Hermione and just stood there not knowing what to do with himself. He was lost. And they were both pleading with him with their eyes and he just stood there and said nothing. That’s all he could really say at this point. He had no idea what to do.

To be continued….


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco has to make a big decision about his life

Draco was standing between his mother and Hermione and felt like he had the biggest decision in the world to make. He either got his life back and agreed to the terms, or he was stuck in a crappy flat with an even worse job, for the rest of his life. On the surface, it wasn’t such a hard decision because anything that made life easier was okay in his book. But then there was Hermione to contend with. He never planned on meeting her again and falling for her. What would he do without her? Though it’s true he would need her less if he went back home, but he wouldn’t want her less. She’d rapidly become a part of his life and not a part he wanted to give up so easily. So he looked at his mum and shook his head.

“Mother, I can’t go back. Not if I can’t see Hermione. You don’t understand what it is you’re asking me to do,” he said finally.

Hermione let out an audible breath that she’d been holding the entire time, and Narcissa just stared him down.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Draco. You barely know this girl. Don’t throw away your life and your family for something that will never amount to anything,” Narcissa pleaded with him.

“Mum, you don’t know what it’ll amount to someday. She’s special. In fact, she helped me when you and Father simply cut me off and threw me out into the city. If I have any loyalties, they’re with her now. I wish you could understand that,” Draco said as he moved across the room and put his arm around a mute Hermione who had not spoken once since Mrs. Malfoy showed up. She was too afraid to speak. Especially when Draco was acting like he didn’t know what to do. But now she found her voice. She looked at Draco.

“Draco, you don’t owe me anything. If you really want to go home, then you should probably do it,” she said softly. She didn’t mean it really, but she was trying to be stoic.

“See? The girl says you don’t owe her anything. So come home,” Narcissa interjected.

Draco just ignored her and looked at Hermione. He held her hands in his own.

“Hermione, there isn’t even a real choice to make here. I can’t lose you. I’ve already lost my money and I proved I could live without that. But I’m not sure I could live without you now,” he said sincerely.

“Really?” Hermione asked, getting teary eyed.

“Yes, really. You’re incredibly important to me.”

“More important than your family, Draco?” Narcissa interfered once again.

“Look Mum, my life stopped concerning you the day you stood next to Father and kicked me out of my own home. The way I see it, you no longer have a hold of me and I can do what I want now. That’s something you never could offer. If I go back, I still have to live under your thumb and follow your rules and do things I don’t want to do. That’s not life. It’s not living. And I want to live my life on my own terms for a change,” Draco explained to her.

“But I only did this so you’d realize how stupid you were being and come back to us. I never imagined you’d make a life out here,” Narcissa said distastefully.

“Well I did make a life. That’s what you said I had to do. Start over again from scratch. And I have. And frankly, things are just getting good. Why would I come back now?” he questioned her.

Narcissa was at a momentary loss for words, then she looked at Hermione.

“So Ms. Granger, do you want my Draco to go hungry for the rest of his life just because of you? Wouldn’t you rather be the bigger person and let him go back where he belongs?” she asked with fake sweetness in her voice.

“Uh, I think you need more faith in Draco. He’s got a job. And he hasn’t been going hungry. I’ve been here to help him. And I’m not entirely sure he belongs with you guys anymore,” Hermione said boldly.

“What? Are you mad? Of course he belongs with us! He’s a Malfoy. And Malfoy’s do not live in places like this with no furniture. What are all these boxes? And what’s sort of abomination is that blob in the corner? It’s not a chair, it’s a bag of sand!” Narcissa let her voice raise.

“Mum, it’s a bean bag chair. It’s not full of sand. And it’s your fault I’m living here! I never would have come here if you hadn’t of kicked me out. And maybe normal Malfoy’s don’t live in places like this, but I do now. And I’m not leaving,” he said confidently.

“You have to leave. I came all this way and welcomed you back. I don’t understand,” Narcissa said shaking her head.

“You didn’t really welcome me back. You were rude to my guest and you came to me with only slightly altered terms and expected me to go crawling back. Just because I’m miserable being broke, doesn’t mean I will blindly follow you again. I’d rather stay here and at least work out my life on my own. Maybe it’s time you loosened your apron strings a little,” he told his mum.

“I don’t even know what to say to you, Draco. Except you’re making a big mistake. But if you choose to live in squalor and associate with lesser beings, then I can’t stop you. I merely thought you’d jump at the chance. Surely you’re not happy like this,” she said looking around at the sad little apartment once again.

“You know what? I am happy. Not because I live here or because I’m penniless, but because I’m free now. And freedom is worth more to me than money right now. So you can take your so-called offer and tell Father I said no way. I’m sorry, Mum. But no way,” Draco said, putting his arm around Hermione to show her he was still by her side.

“Fine. He’s not going to be happy. It took a lot for me to get him to agree to this even. But if you’re insistent on staying here, then I’m afraid there’s nothing else I can say,” she sighed.

“You’re right. There’s nothing you can say. And I don’t much care if Father is upset or not. He upset me first. Do you not care that he threw your only son out into the world with nothing? Whose side should you be on? Mine or his?”

“I’m simply trying to make everyone happy. And this newest plan is a great compromise, don’t you think?”

“No I don’t think it’s a great compromise. I still have to get married. And I’m not ready to do that! And you’ve already made it clear that my new girlfriend is not marriage material, so why would I think this was some great idea?” he shot back at her.

Hermione smiled up at him and interjected.

“I’m your girlfriend?” she asked delightedly.

He looked at her and smiled.

“Of course you are. Aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. I kind of like the sound of that. I’m your girlfriend,” she beamed, finally getting the answer to one of the questions that plagued her earlier.

“This is preposterous. Girlfriend? She’s not your girlfriend. She can’t be. You’ve only been gone a couple weeks!” Narcissa bellowed.

“It doesn’t take long when you meet the right person,” Draco said giving Hermione’s hand a squeeze.

“Ugh, this is ridiculous. What am I supposed to tell your father? Tell him you’ve taken up with the Granger girl and refuse to come home? He’ll never speak to you again, you realize?” she informed him.

“Mum, if that’s really Father’s reaction to my life and my choice, then good riddance. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life. Normal parents are happy for their kids when they find someone special. They don’t disown them or throw them onto the street,” he told her.

“If it were up to me, I’d make it different for you, Draco. But it’s not up to me. This is your father’s show and his rules. And we all simply have to obey them in order to elicit harmony in our fold. I thought you understood that?” she said to him.

“I do understand that. It’s his way or no way. But I’m over it. It may have worked when I was a kid, but I’m a grown man now. It’s not Father’s show anymore. It’s mine. And I’m staying here. So please just go away and leave us alone,” Draco said shaking his head.

Narcissa just looked at Draco and Hermione who were still holding each other and she wanted to cry. She thought for sure her son would come back after living as a common person for a few weeks. She didn’t expect him to even last that long before he came crawling back. But when it seemed as though he wasn’t going to come back, she had to try something to get him home. She missed her little boy. Except he wasn’t a little boy anymore. He was a man. A man with a mind of his own. And she knew there was nothing she could do to change that mind.

“Alright, I’ll leave. The offer will still remain open though if you change your mind,” she said sadly.

“I won’t change my mind, but thanks,” he said giving her the brush off.

“At least give your mother a hug before I go,” she said holding out her arms.

Draco sighed and let go of Hermione and went to his mum. He hugged her tightly and he wished so badly she didn’t follow his father’s wishes so blindly. She was a strong woman, but she was also a people pleaser. And she lived her life simply trying to make his father happy, which meant she didn’t really have much say in how life went for them. He felt sorry for her sometimes. But she made her bed, and Draco didn’t want to lie in it anymore. They pulled out of their hug and Draco’s mum held up a small pouch filled with galleons.

“Here, take this. Please buy some furniture and anything else you need. Just don’t tell your father I gave this to you. He’d kill me. But if you’re not coming home, you have to at least live better. So take the money, okay?” she said as she placed the pouch in his hands.

“Mum…”

“What? You’re so proud you’d not even take money from me? There are no conditions to it. I’m simply giving it to you to help you.”

“I wasn’t gonna say no, believe me,” he said as he put the galleons in his pocket. “I was just going to say you didn’t have to do it.”

“Oh. Well, I know I don’t have to, but I want to. I realize you’re angry with me right now, but I still love you Draco. And I won’t have my son sitting on an oversized pillowcase stuffed with beans and calling it a chair,” she told him.

“Noted. But it’s actually really comfy. Of course not to you, I’m sure. But anyway, thank you for the money Mum. It’ll help me out a lot. But I’m still not coming back home. Not unless it’s truly unconditional and I can do what I please, with whomever I please. That’s the only thing that will get me back. And you can tell Father that. So until that time happens, I guess I won’t be seeing you,” he said stoically.

“No, I guess not. Well, I should be going. I’m sorry for popping in unannounced but when you owled me and told me where you were, I thought perhaps it was a cry for help so here I am. I didn’t touch anything, except I made a cup of a tea while I was waiting. Hope you don’t mind.”

“No, it’s fine. Thanks for coming by. Just if in the future you wish to see me, don’t break into my flat and sit in the shadows sipping tea. Owl me or at least knock on my door and wait for me to open it. Okay?”

“Okay. I love you, Draco. I hope we do see each other again. Just think about it and you know where to find me,” she said sadly.

“Bye Mum,” he said giving her a wave.

And with that, she apparated out of his flat and left Draco and Hermione alone in the room. It didn’t go unnoticed that she basically ignored Hermione entirely and didn’t even say goodbye. But Hermione was okay with that. Draco chose her. And for a while she didn’t know if he would. It had to be a very difficult choice to choose to live a crappy life versus a charmed one. But Draco really stood up for himself and Hermione was proud of him. She decided to tell him so.

“Draco, I know that couldn’t have been easy, but I’m proud of you for holding your ground,” Hermione said softly, taking his hand again.

“Proud? Really? I didn’t know what I was doing honestly. I mean, going home is all I really want to do. Except then there would be no us. And frankly, I’m too attached to you right now for that to even be an option,” he admitted as he leaned over and kissed her.

“You did a hard thing, but I think you did the right thing,” she assured him.

“I hope so. Should I count these galleons in my pocket? It felt like a lot. Please let it be a lot because buying actual furniture would make my life complete,” he said fishing the pouch out of his pocket.

Draco went to the kitchen and dumped the contents of the bag onto the counter. It was indeed quite a lot of money. Five hundred galleons to be exact. Which was around £2,500 in Muggle money. That could help Draco out immensely. He was so caught up in counting that he didn’t see what Hermione was doing. But she was snooping by the sink and noted the teacup lying at the bottom of it. It wasn’t one with blue flowers on it, but rather all white. She picked it up and showed Draco.

“Draco, your mum drank out of this teacup!” she said trying to hold back her laughter.

“What? A teacup? So?” he was distracted counting his new money and didn’t even look up.

“It’s not the one I bought you, so it’s obviously the mouse one. Your mum drank out of a mouse!” she burst out laughing.

Draco looked over and realized she was right. His mum had taken the teacup off the counter instead of taking one from the cupboard. Now his mum had drunk tea from a mouse too. If she knew, she’d probably vomit and kill him simultaneously. But since she wasn’t there to know it, he simply started laughing too.

“Oh my God, that’s priceless. Kinda serves her right for breaking into my flat. When I told here where I was, I never meant for her to come here like that. I just thought maybe she’d want to know I was alright. But even if I didn’t take her offer, she still gave me money. So I say it was worth the unexpected visit.”

“Do you think you’ll ever change your mind about going back?” she asked in a small voice.

“No. I meant what I said. I’m not going back unless I’m actually free to do what I want. I’m not leaving you,” he said seriously, as he went over and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m glad because I’ve grown quite fond of having you around,” she leaned up and kissed him.

“Do you think I should have refused the money?” he asked curiously as they pulled out of their kiss.

“Oh hell no. Free money is free money. I wouldn’t have passed it up either,” she laughed.

“It just kind of feels like a bribe.”

“But it’s not because she didn’t say you had to do anything for it. She just wants you to be okay. I mean, I don’t agree with what she’s doing at all, or that she follows your father so blindly. But she is your mum and she loves you. And I think the Malfoy way of showing love is to give money. So that’s what she did. And let’s face it, you could use it. I’m already envisioning the shopping we can do with that money. Your flat won’t be so depressing anymore with a sofa and a throw rug and maybe a coffee table and a bookshelf? I think we should go to IKEA,” she rambled on, until she realized she was mentally spending Draco’s money without even asking him what he wanted to do. She looked at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fantasize about shopping so much. We can go wherever you want to go and get whatever you want to get.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t know what an IKEA is or what that means, but if they have furniture, then I’m all for it.”

“They also sell meatballs that are really good,” she smiled at him.

“They sell meatballs at a furniture store? Is that a normal Muggle thing?” he chuckled at her.

“No, but trust me, it makes the whole experience more fun. I can’t wait to go with you. Unless you’d rather go alone?” she offered looking down at her hands.

“Don’t be silly. Of course I want you with me. I just gave up my family riches to stay with you, so I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he grinned and pulled her close to him again.

“I still can’t believe you gave it up for me,” she whispered into his chest.

“I didn’t just do it for you, but that was a large part. But I also did it for me because I just can’t go back to living under someone’s thumb. I know I complain a lot and I really hate my job and being poor sucks, but I’m a free man for the first time in my life. It’s exhilarating,” he explained.

“So what do you say we set off to Gringotts to get this money converted so we can shop then?” she offered, excited to get a move on things as they still had a good portion of the day left to do their shopping.

“I’m all for it. I’m kind of hungry again so maybe I could eat some meatballs while we shop eh?” he told her.

“Totally. Let’s get going before it’s too late,” she said giving him a kiss and taking his hand. “I still can’t believe your mum drank out of the mouse cup,” she giggled to herself.

“Me neither.”

“I thought you said you were going to turn that thing back into a mouse?”

“I was, but I forgot. Besides where am I gonna do it? I can’t let it loose in my flat,” he told her.

She let go of his hand and went to the sink and got the cup out. She then took it and opened the window and set it outside on the balcony rail and closed the window. Then she pulled out her wand and poofed it back into a mouse for him. The poor thing looked confused as hell, but after staring at Hermione for a minute, it simply scurried off down the fire escape and disappeared.

“There. No more mouse. But I’m always going to remember him fondly. First you drank out of it, which was hilarious enough. But then your mum drank from it too! Unwittingly! It’s hilarious,” she chuckled.

“You’re kind of evil getting a laugh at our expense, you know that?” he ribbed her.

“I know. But it’s part of my charm,” she stuck out her tongue at him.

“Come on Ms. Charming. Let’s go shopping!” he said as he grabbed her up and whirled her around and kissed her greedily before putting her back down again.

“Are you sure you wanna shop? We could just stay here and do other things…” she enticed him.

“As much as I love the other things, I really want a fucking sofa. And a telly. We should control ourselves long enough to shop and then reward ourselves later, don’t you think?” he asked.

“Oh alright. Honestly I have two great loves in life and one is amazing sex, but the other is shopping,” she smiled at him.

“Maybe we can do both at the same time? Do they have beds at this IKEA place?” he raised his eyebrow at her.

She smacked his chest playfully.

“Stop. Again with the whole, let’s not get arrested thing. First the park, now IKEA? Is nothing sacred?”

“I was just kidding. I’m not that daft. But just imagine the rush you’d get from shopping and fucking at the same time. Now that’s bliss,” he grinned at her.

“Come on you dork, let’s get going.”

And with that, they set off into the late afternoon and headed to Diagon Alley first. Hermione really hoped she didn’t see Ron because she was still mad at him. But their trip was uneventful, even if Draco insisted on going nowhere near Scoopy’s lest they haul him in and force him to work on his day off. Then they apparated to the IKEA store that Hermione knew of. Draco just tagged along for the ride since he had no clue where they were going. But they ended up behind the building near some big trucks and a loading dock. Luckily no one was around to see them. They brushed their clothes off and walked around the building to the front of the store and Draco was amazed at how big it was. He’d never seen a shop this large before. But they went inside and Draco was overwhelmed.

“My God, how will I ever find anything here? The place is enormous,” he remarked as they stopped to look around them.

“It’s really not so bad. You just kind of follow a circle and it has different little showrooms of model living rooms and bedrooms and such. It’s kind of fun to peruse, even if you didn’t have money to spend,” she assured him.

“Where are these meatballs you spoke of?” he asked, feeling his stomach growl.

“Here, I’ll show you,” she grabbed his hand and ushered him to the food area. It was a good place to start.

They ordered the meatballs and Draco didn’t look enthusiastic about them.

“They look kind of disgusting,” he noted.

“They taste better than they look,” she told him.

He took a bite and chewed it cautiously then he shrugged and kept eating them.

“They’re okay. Not exactly steak, but at least it’s meat of some sort. Don’t tell me what kind of meat, because I might not want to know. But I’m eating it anyway,” he said gobbling them up.

“I have no idea what they’re made of either but I like them. It’s kind of like a hot dog. It tastes good, but it’s probably made from animal parts I don’t wanna know about. Sometimes it’s best to leave things alone and just enjoy the taste,” she chuckled slightly.

Once they were done eating, it was time to shop. And they spent forever looking at all the various rooms and different types of furniture. But Draco had his heart set on this black sofa and a glass coffee table with black wrought iron legs. It was well within his budget, so he decided to throw in another two lamps and a small bookshelf. Plus he noted that they sold stands for your telly, but no actual telly’s, so they’d have to go somewhere else for that one. But he did get the black stand that the telly would presumably live on.

“I think you’ve spent enough, Draco. You don’t want to use it all up in one go,” she warned him as he filled out the little paper of all the items he wished to buy.

“I’ve only spent roughly half what my mum gave me. That’s enough to still get a telly and have some leftover. It’s so hard not to get everything I see. Like that bedroom set over there is amazing. But I know I already have a bed set, so I’m refraining. I tend to go a little nuts with money in my pocket,” he admitted.

“I know, which is why I’m telling you to slow down. Let’s just check out now before you see something else you need,” she sighed slightly.

“Oh wait! Look they have kitchen stuff too! Glasses! I need some glasses and plates and utensils. I have only one spoon and two forks. And a measuring cup. A man can’t live with that just that alone,” he told her as he pulled her towards the kitchen displays.

“Alright, you have a point. Which by the way, did you have those items in your room when you left or did you pilfer them from your parents kitchen?” she wondered curiously.

“My house elf Tilda gave them to me. She was upset I was leaving and told me I needed to feed myself now. So she snuck out the forks and the spoon and the measuring cup and gave them to me. It’s not much, but she could get severely punished for taking them. So I swore I’d never tell my parents what she did. She’s a good elf. You’d like her. I know you always had a weird soft spot for house elves,” he told her.

“It’s not a weird soft spot, it’s a normal soft spot. They’re living beings! They don’t deserve to be enslaved,” she said heatedly.

“Calm down. I know you feel that way, but most elves are perfectly content to serve. They don’t feel enslaved. I know my father treated Dobby like shit, but he doesn’t do that anymore. Mostly because he and I had it out and I told him to stop beating up the help. I mean, happy elves serve you better than unhappy elves, right? That was my philosophy anyway,” he informed her.

“You really had it out with your father over Dobby?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes. I did. I loved Dobby. And he loved me. It’s just he happened to love your precious Potter more than me, of course. But that’s neither here nor there. He was still my elf first and I never treated him wrong,” he insisted.

“Well I’m glad to hear that. Because I would be upset if I thought you had kicked him around too like your father did.”

“I never did. So you can put away your SPEW fliers or whatever that thing was you did in school, and relax,” he laughed slightly.

“Hey, SPEW was very important to me. But for your information, I haven’t passed out fliers in quite some time. I retired from the house elf rebellion. Mostly because none of the elves except Dobby actually wanted to be freed. I still don’t understand it.”

“It was an interesting effort, to say the least. I heard a rumor you knitted hats for the elves at school. I admit I got a right good laugh about that one back in the day,” he said wistfully.

“Yeah, yeah. I bet you did. But that’s okay because I got a good laugh at you when I punched you in the nose and you ran off like a scared little girly girl,” she reminded him with a laugh.

“Hey now. No bringing that up. We’ve already established that you hit hard! I didn’t want you to hit me again so I ran away. Doesn’t make me a girly girl!” he protested.

“That’s not how it looked to me. You couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I felt super good afterwards,” she remembered fondly.

“Ha-ha. Wonderful. Let’s reminisce about how much of a pussy Draco was,” he sighed and shook his head.

She went and put her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

“I’m sorry. It’s just sometimes I remember these things and I can’t help but laugh. I mean, look at us now? Whoever would have thought this would happen?” she asked him.

“Certainly not me.”

“Not me either.”

“But I’m glad. I’m glad I have you, Hermione. I really am. And since I have a little money now, I’m gonna take you out tonight. After we get cleaned up from shopping. I want to share a good meal with you. A proper one. Not just pizza or those God awful Lean Cuisines you fed me before,” he told her.

“Alright. Let’s get checked out then and see about having all this stuff delivered okay?” she told him with a smile as they made their way to the checkout lines.

Draco paid for his purchases and set up a delivery time and they set off back home so they could get ready for their special meal. The only problem was that Draco didn’t know where to go. He wasn’t exactly versed in the local restaurants around them, so he left it to Hermione to pick. His only requirement being that they had steak on the menu. But Hermione knew just the place. It was somewhere she used to go with her family for special occasions. But she also knew it wasn’t so pricey it’d break the bank. It was also a fairly casual restaurant so they didn’t have to dress super fancy either. Hermione wasn’t in the mood for heels. But she did put on a cute sundress and sandals, while Draco put on one of his old suits. It was the first time since he’d been kicked out that he wore a suit. But he decided to forgo the tie and just wear his shirt open at the collar. When they met up again after getting ready they were both bowled over at how nicely the other person cleaned up.

“You look amazing,” Draco told her as she twirled around and showed off her cute lavender outfit.

“You look smashing as well. I do like you in a suit,” she admitted as she fixed his slightly askew collar and kissed him on the cheek.

“Shall we go eat streak?” he asked with a grin.

“Absolutely.”

So they went to the place and it was very crowded but they managed to get a table in the bar area without too much trouble. Draco had wanted a small romantic candlelit dinner, but this place was more suited to families and Hermione had to remind him of how much money he didn’t have. They were splurging on this meal as it was. They couldn’t go to the fanciest place in town. A chain restaurant would have to do. But they ordered cocktails first and an appetizer, then their meal arrived. Draco had gotten the best steak he could afford that wasn’t a little filet. He wanted the biggest one they had, but that was too pricey. So he settled for a medium sized piece of meat.

“I wish I could go to Texas and have a steak the size of my head,” Draco remarked as he dug into his meal.

Hermione giggled at him.

“You wanna go to Texas? Somehow I can’t picture you in a ten gallon hat eating steak with cowboy boots on.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to dress like a Texas person, but I hear they all eat steak for every meal. Even for breakfast! That must be the life,” he said dreamily.

“I highly doubt they really eat steak 24/7 but I think your brain has just been deprived of meat too long,” she told him with a grin.

“I have been deprived. Do you realize how good this tastes? I want to eat slow so it’ll last longer, but part of me just wants to gobble it up like my plane is about to go down.”

“So Draco, do you still feel good about your decision to stay here and not leave with your mum?” Hermione asked changing the subject.

“What? Oh, yeah. Of course I do. I mean, there was no choice really. Not when I sat and thought about it,” he explained between bites of his dinner. “If she had come to me with an offer like I could do whatever I want and still be spoiled then I’d have to say yes though.”

“But do you really want to be spoiled still? I told you that I liked you better like this. You change when people spoil you,” she pointed out.

“Do I really? I mean, you spoil me with food and sex and the occasional bean bag chair and I didn’t change. Did I?” he wondered.

“Well I don’t consider those things to be spoiling though. I’m talking about how your parents catered to your every whim. That’s the Draco I don’t like,” she explained.

“I think I’m a bigger man now. I mean, I’m trying to be. I still slip up from time to time though,” he admitted.

“You are getting better. I’ll hand you that. But you really are a sight to behold when you have money to spend. You were so cute today at IKEA. If not for me, I think you would have spent all your money there,” she teased him.

“I know. It’s just when you have a flat filled with boxes and a bean bag chair and only one lamp, you tend to go nuts for fully furnished rooms. I wanted to live in that strange green room with the fluffy yellow pillows on the sofa. I mean, it was like sitting in a room full of spring time,” he laughed.

“You liked that room? I thought it was tacky,” she made a face at him.

“It was tacky. It was kind of like my work shirt blew up and created furniture, but it just felt cheerful. Obviously I’d never purchase a room like that, but it was welcoming like a hug,” he said with a goofy grin on his face.

“You’re silly. I like the stuff you did get. Once it all arrives, I bet you’ll be a hundred times happier with your living conditions,” she smiled at him.

“So who used to live in my flat eh? Were you friends with them? Any chance they left a hidden stash of drug money in the toilet tank that I could uncover?” he chuckled.

“Hardly. It was an old woman. Mrs. Donaldson. Sweet lady who used to bring me stale cakes once in a while because I’d run her rubbish down to the chute for her,” Hermione explained.

“Did she move? Please tell me she moved. She didn’t kick it in my flat did she?” he asked with a worried look.

“I’m afraid she did expire suddenly in your flat. I’m actually the one who called the building manager because I hadn’t seen her for three days and she always had rubbish for me so I knew something must be wrong.”

“Oh God, I’m sleeping where a dead person slept,” he cringed.

“She didn’t sleep in your bed, you dork. You brought that with you. And technically a dead person doesn’t sleep,” she pointed out.

“I just mean she died in the very room where I sleep. What if that weird stain on the floor is dead person juice?” he asked horrified.

“Dead person juice?” she asked as she burst out laughing. “I’m pretty sure that stain is from an old leak in the pipes.

“Ugh, still. Why didn’t you tell me my flat was tainted? I was prepared to hear that drug dealers lived there, but not a dead person. What if she starts haunting me?” he asked with concern.

“Then I reckon it’d be just like staying at Hogwarts. The ghosts there didn’t frighten you, did they?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, they didn’t. But they were different! I don’t know what some old lady ghost would do to me,” he said with a shiver.

“You are too much, Draco. I’m sure your flat isn’t haunted. You would have seen something by now,” she told him.

“I guess. I suppose I’m being a little stupid. I think you’re right that I’ll feel better about my flat once my new furniture arrives. Then it’ll seem like a home and not a storage locker by the docks where I’m squatting,” he sighed.

“I happen to like your bedroom quite a lot. Your bed is huge and fluffy and fun to roll around on,” she said giving him a devious grin.

“Really now? Should we hurry up and eat so we can go roll around in it?” he asked her.

“I think so. I mean, we did have plans to do just that when your mother rudely interrupted us,” she reminded him.

“True. Let’s finish eating then,” he smiled as he continued to dig in, this time slightly faster than before.

Once they were done, Draco happily paid the check and felt like a real man again. He appreciated it so much when Hermione treated him to food, but it felt bad to him because in his world, men paid for meals. So this felt like he was righting some sort of wrong by paying her way. He felt more like the man he wanted to be. If he had his way, he’d always take Hermione out for steak and maybe lobster too. Perhaps one day he’d have a real job and be able to do things like that again. He remembered his last meal with Astoria. He had broken up with her over a roast duck from one of the fanciest places around. The food had been incredible, but he ended up wearing some of the duck sauce when she tossed it on him after he dumped her. She did not take it well. But he didn’t mind too much because back then he could still afford dry cleaning costs. If Hermione threw sauce on him, his suit would be ruined for sure. But he wasn’t breaking up with her. Not any time soon, and hopefully not ever. She had warmed herself to him so much that he was head over heels in record time. He gave up everything for her and he wondered if she truly understood how much she meant to him. But he was still too chickenshit to tell her outright. He hoped the meal gave her a clue though. He wanted to pamper her.

When they returned home, they stood outside their respective doors and tried to figure out whose place to spend the night at. Hermione won out because it was a really warm night and she had a fan, whereas Draco did not. They wanted to be cooler, so they entered her flat and were greeted by Crookshanks. Hermione had a little doggy bag of scraps to give him and she went to the kitchen to put them in a dish.

“I thought they called it a doggy bag because the food was for dogs?” Draco said as he draped himself across her sofa.

“Yeah, well, I don’t have a dog. So it’s a kitty bag for me. Crookshanks loves leftovers,” she said as she put the scraps of meat in the dish and put it on the floor for her pet.

“That cat is incredibly spoiled. No wonder he’s snobby. You treat him like my parents treated me,” he chuckled.

“Oh be quiet. I have no children yet, so I need to spoil my cat. Besides I doubt your parents put leftover meat in a dish for you,” she remarked as she stuck her tongue out at him.

“No they didn’t. But that leftover meat cost a lot so it’s an extravagant meal for a cat.”

“Hush up and let me do it. Look how happy he is. He’s purring while he’s eating. Be glad I didn’t serve him your old mouse,” she said to him.

He laughed.

“Yeah, that poor bugger had a rough go of things already. He was a teacup for weeks. Imagine being turned back into a mouse only to be eaten by your cat. That would suck.”

“So should we retire to the bedroom or do you want a drink or something first?” she asked, eager to get him naked again.

“Bedroom please. I can’t wait to get that pretty lavender dress off you,” he said with a smoldering look.

“Let’s go.”

And with that, they ran into the bedroom and he immediately threw her on the bed. He pulled off his suit jacket and threw it on the floor and kicked off his shoes, then pounced on her. They kissed passionately while his hands roamed her body and he expertly found her zipper and undid it. He pulled the dress off and noticed Hermione had matching lavender underwear on and it was all lacy. He smiled and ran his hands over her again.

“Very nice. Your knickers and your bra match your outfit,” he purred as he kissed his way up the side of her neck.

“Mmmhmm…” she moaned slightly feeling chills go up her spine at his touch. She couldn’t form a coherent word. She just began undoing his shirt buttons and kissing her way across his chest.

Once they were both divested of their clothing, Draco wasted no time attaching himself to her breast once again. He could hear her moaning and that just compelled him to suck harder on her nipple, while his fingers lightly pinched the other one. That sent her reeling and she arched her back and let out a little cry. This pleased Draco, and he kept doing what he was doing, until he reached down between her legs and felt how wet she already was. He slipped his fingers inside her and began working his magic, while his thumb played over her clit. She was in ecstasy already and they’d barely started. No one else ever got her as wet as he did, and so fast. Everything he did was magic. When she felt herself nearing an orgasm, Draco suddenly stopped fingering her clit and dove down and sucked it into his mouth instead. That nearly tipped her over the edge she was teetering on but she cried out and let the feeling consume her as she clamped her legs down around his head.

Draco felt like he was being suffocated almost by her soft thighs that were far stronger than they looked. But he didn’t mind being suffocated if it meant she had an earth shattering orgasm. After all, that was the whole point. He kept furiously licking at her most sensitive nub and sucking it into his mouth at various intervals until she absolutely lost it. She came hard and let out a loud moan as she clawed at Draco’s hair because the sensation was almost too much for her to handle. He finally lifted his head from between her legs after she relaxed her grip on him and he smiled up at her.

“You are the sexiest woman alive,” he uttered to her as he kissed her inner thigh and rubbed her sweet spot gently with his fingers, which just sent shudders up her body.

“You are the sexiest man alive,” she told him breathlessly. No one else ever handled her the way he did. He was rough, but not too rough. And gentle at times, but not too gentle. He was the perfect mix of passion and tenderness and it drove her wild.

He kissed his way up her stomach and licked each breast, while gently nipping her with his teeth, before he reached her mouth and planted an amazing kiss on her. Once she recovered her senses, she grabbed him and kissed him forcefully, grabbing a handful of his hair. Then she flipped them over so she was laying on top of him now. She kissed her way down his chest and followed the trail of white blonde hair that led to the promised land. He was far larger than any of her previous lovers, but she was determined to take all of him into her mouth. She wanted to taste him the way he had so expertly tasted her. He gasped out when she slid her open mouth over his shaft and sucked him hard. He hadn’t been expecting such a treat and he was reveling every moment of it. He could feel her tongue swirling around his cock and he thought he might lose it right in her mouth. But he didn’t want to do that because he wanted to shag her senseless instead. But he was lost in pleasure and grabbed her head and pushed it down further so she could take more of him into her mouth which she dutifully did. When he felt himself getting dangerously close to coming, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to him so he could kiss her.

“I don’t wanna come yet. I wanna fuck you first,” he uttered lustily as he kissed her hard on the mouth.

“Mmm, yeah, fuck me,” she said with a smoldering look.

He grabbed her and flipped her over on her stomach.

“Get on your hands and knees,” he ordered her, which she obliged.

He grabbed her hips and used his knees to push her legs further apart and then he thrust himself deeply into her. He pounded her hard and every moan and cry she made just fueled his frenzy.

“Oh God! God, I’m going to come again!” she cried as she attempted to stifle her screams with a pillow.

He fucked her as hard as he could at this utterance because he wanted nothing more than for her to come again while he was inside her. He could feel her walls clenching and pulsating as she tumbled over that edge with wild abandon. This made him lose control entirely and he spilled himself into her while letting out a loud groan. He felt her body go limp and he pulled himself out of her and let her collapse on the bed. He breathlessly laid down next to her and brushed the hair out of her eyes and kissed her nose.

“I love you,” he whispered softly, unable to contain his strong emotions any longer.

She just looked at him with wonder and smiled.

“You love me?” she asked beaming from ear to ear.

“I do.”

“I love you too,” she whispered as she kissed his lips softly.

“I’m never letting you go,” he told her seriously.

“I never want to be let go,” she told him just as seriously.

And with that, he scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her and they lay there together with the fan blowing on their hot sweaty naked bodies, and neither of them could be happier than they were at this moment. They loved each other. Hermione just wondered what her friends would think of this latest development. But she realized she didn’t care. Let them be jerks about it. She was in love. And she knew now that Draco loved her too. It was crazy and they were probably all wrong for each other, but neither of them cared. They just wanted to be together. And nothing and no one could stop them.

 

To be continued….


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco gets his first paycheck and his furniture....

The next morning, Hermione’s alarm went off signaling it was time to get ready for her work week. Draco was not pleased because he didn’t want to get up so early, but today was a big day for him because he got to pick up his first paycheck. He was already dreaming about the groceries he could buy with it, not to mention he still needed to get a telly with the money his mum gave him. But he grumbled when Hermione tried to get out of bed and he pulled her back down with him.

“Take the day off. Spend it with me. It’s no fair you have to leave me so early,” he said with a pout.

“I’m sorry, Draco. But I have to work. I have a big meeting today. I can’t miss it. You’ll be fine without me,” she assured him with a kiss.

“Blah. Stupid meeting. Where am I going to buy a telly? And how will I know which one to get if you’re not with me?” he asked curiously, playing with her hair.

“There’s an electronics store about four blocks up the street. You can’t miss it. And just let a salesperson help you. Remember, you don’t have a lot of money left,” she reminded him.

“I know. It’s dwindling already and it’s only been less than twenty four hours. I’m terrible at managing money,” he sighed.

“You’ll get better. Plus it’s pay day! That’s an awesome thing. Then you’ll see all your hard work pay off,” she smiled at him.

“Yeah, but it’s going to be small. At least compared to what my mum gave me. They really should pay you more for crappy jobs and pay you less for good ones. It only makes sense. If your job is enjoyable, then you don’t mind doing it. But my job sucks assholes and I get paid shit, so there really is no bright side to it,” he lamented.

“Maybe it’ll be better than you think? But for now, I really have to get showered,” she said, wiggling out of his grasp and getting out of the tangled sheets.

“How about a quickie before you jump in the shower? Or better yet, I’ll join you and make you dirtier before you get clean,” he said wagging his eyebrows at her.

“It’s tempting, but I’ll be late! I can’t be late. But when I get home, I promise I’m all yours,” she said leaning down to give him a kiss.

“Oh alright. Go shower. I need coffee. Do you have coffee?” he asked with a yawn.

“In the kitchen,” she told him offhandedly as she grabbed her robe and headed for the shower.

Draco lazily lounged in bed for a short time before forcing himself up to get coffee. He went to her kitchen and found the cat waiting by his empty food dish. He tried ignoring it, but Crookshanks kept meowing at him.

“What do you want, you beast? Food? Too bad. Your mummy can feed you. Draco needs coffee. Do you know where the coffee is kept?” he asked Crookshanks. Then he realized he was actually speaking to a cat. He shook his head. “Of course you don’t know where the coffee is. You’re a cat. And I’m losing it because we’re having a conversation.”

He looked through the cabinets until he found a bag of coffee, but he didn’t know how to make it. He saw the coffee maker sitting there, but it was all foreign to him.

“How do I work this thing?” he asked Crookshanks again as he weaved in and out of Draco’s legs, looking for attention and food. “You don’t know either eh? I guess I’ll just wing it,” he said when the cat didn’t magically answer his question.

He opened up the lid and poured the coffee into the tank, then he put water in the tank as well. Then he found the power button and pushed it on. It started making noise and gurgling a little so he smiled to himself.

“That wasn’t so hard. I can do this,” he told the cat. “Oh don’t look at me like that. I’m still not feeding you,” he said giving Crookshanks a firm look.

“Draco, who are you talking to out here?” Hermione asked as she entered the room in her robe but with a towel in her hands, drying her hair.

“I’m talking to your cat. He’s not much help though. I think I got the coffee thing figured out though. No thanks to Crookshanks, I might add,” he said with a grin.

“You’re hilarious. You’re talking to my cat and asking him how to make coffee?” she giggled at him.

“Well he was the only one in here. Besides I think he’s hungry. He keeps meowing at me and looking at his empty dish,” he informed her.

“So feed him for me. The bag of food is in the pantry closet,” she said as she continued to dry her hair.

“Alright.”

“I’ll be back once I’m dressed. Will you do my hair for me again?” she asked him.

“Sure. I’ll just be out here enjoying my coffee after I feed your cat for you,” he told her, waving her off to the bedroom.

He looked in the pantry for the cat food and found the bag. He poured it into the bowl until it was overflowing. Then he filled up the nearly empty water dish and set that back down. Crookshanks was happily crunching away when Draco decided to check his coffee. The pot was full now, but it didn’t look right. It was really light in color and when he held it up to the light he could see coffee grounds everywhere just swimming in the mess. He made a face at it and put it back down. Just then Hermione came out again, fully dressed, and was ready for Draco to do her hair. She saw his confused expression.

“What’s wrong? Did you not find the cat food?” she wondered.

“No, I found that. Your cat is happy. But my coffee didn’t turn out. It’s all sludgy and too light, like tea. I must have done something wrong,” he told her unhappily.

She went over to survey the damage and she looked at what he’d done.

“Draco, you didn’t put a coffee filter in it. Plus you didn’t add enough coffee either. Did you pour the coffee into the water tank?” she asked examining the disaster he made.

“Was I not supposed to?” he asked sheepishly.

“Oh God, you’ve gotten grounds all inside the machine! You’re supposed to put the grounds in the basket with a filter!” she cried looking at her ruined coffee maker.

“Oops. My bad. I didn’t know how to work it!” he said defensively. “It has no directions!”

“It’s okay. Maybe I can clean it out later? But for now, I’m running late. I still need my hair done. You’ll have to get coffee elsewhere, I’m afraid,” she told him with a sigh.

“I’m sorry I ruined your coffee machine. I really thought I did it right,” he said feeling foolish.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Just please do my hair?” she asked with a small smile.

He nodded and pulled out his wand and fixed her up nicely. She was going to get spoiled having a boyfriend who could do her hair so expertly. But he was happy to do it. And it only took him a minute before she was looking beautiful. He smiled at her.

“You look amazing now. Everyone at work will be awestruck at your beauty,” he told her as he kissed her forehead.

“If so, then I’ll tell them my amazing boyfriend did my hair for me and they’ll all be jealous because you’re mine,” she said happily.

“That’s right. I am yours. And you’re mine. Are you sure we don’t have time for a quickie?” he asked again, as seeing her so pretty got his juices flowing.

“Afraid not. I have to leave now. Will you lock the door when you leave?” she asked as she grabbed her purse and slipped on her shoes.

“Of course. And when you get home, I can show you my new telly,” he beamed at her.

“Definitely. Just remember, don’t spend too much! I’ll see you when I get home,” she told him as she gave him a quick kiss and headed out the door.

Draco just looked around her kitchen and wondered if she had eggs or something. She wouldn’t mind if he pilfered some food, would she? He didn’t fancy eating a burrito for breakfast. So he rummaged through her fridge and found food to make. Then he realized that he had no idea how to make an egg either. He was not skilled in a kitchen at all. He could make tea and toast and heat up a frozen burrito, but that was about it. He proved he couldn’t even make coffee. But he was gonna try to make eggs even if it killed him to do so. He liked them sunny side up but that seemed too challenging to make. So he went with scrambled. He did a decent job but they were a little burnt. And his toast was overdone as well, so he realized he couldn’t actually make that successfully after all. But he ate his slightly burnt meal and then decided to finish getting dressed and head back to his place. It was nearly time to get his paycheck, so he decided to shower and change and head off to Diagon Alley.

He walked through the crowded streets and headed for Scoopy’s. He was not pleased to go into work when it was his day off, but the money enticed him. He walked in and saw Frank standing there, looking bored as usual. He waved at him and nodded.

“Hello Frank. I’m here to get my pay. Is Mr. Cox in back?” he asked politely.

“Yep, he’s back there. And he’s in a mood. He hates pay day. Stingy old codger hates parting with money,” Frank informed him.

“Yeah? Well he owes me. I don’t much like scooping ice cream either, but we all have to do what we have to do,” Draco said as he pushed open the kitchen doors and walked into the back area where the office was.

He came to the open office and saw his boss sitting behind the desk shuffling papers around. Draco knocked on the open door to alert him to his presence and Mr. Cox looked up at him.

“Ah, here for your pay I take it?” he said with a sigh.

“Yes sir. Is it ready yet?” Draco asked curiously.

“Got your check right here. I took out extra money for the uniform though. And I had to dock you for the bin of sprinkles you threw on the floor that one day,” he explained.

“What? You’re making me pay for that hideous polka dot shirt? And the sprinkles I spilled accidentally?” he lied slightly, as it was no accident how they ended up on the floor and all over Ron.

“Sorry, but that’s the breaks, kid. I’ve got a business to run so I can’t go around giving out free clothes or wasting sprinkles. Do you know how much those cost me?” Mr. Cox asked.

“Yeah, like two knuts maybe? How much did you take out of my check?” Draco asked, as he snatched up the piece of paper that his boss held out for him. He perused it and saw the list of deductions taken out. “You’ve gotta be shitting me. You charged me this much for some fucking sprinkles?” Draco was pissed off.

“Watch your language, boy! And yes, I had to do it. Next time, you’ll be more careful.”

“And really? You charged me five galleons for that hideous shirt?” Draco was aghast.

“It’s a one-time fee. Unless you lose the shirt.”

Draco just took a deep breath and let it out. His check was even smaller than he feared due to these ridiculous charges. But he knew he had to hold his tongue. He couldn’t afford to tell his boss to kiss his ass, even if he really wanted to. He just folded the check and put it in his pocket.

“Don’t worry, I won’t lose the shirt. And I highly doubt anyone would steal it either,” Draco informed him as he turned around to leave the office.

“What? No thank you? I just gave you money,” Mr. Cox reminded him.

“I’m supposed to thank you for taking half my money that I earned by working my ass off for you?” Draco shook his head.

“It’s only polite to thank someone when they give you money,” Mr. Cox informed him.

“Yeah? It’s my money though! But whatever. Thank you. Now good day. I’ll be in tomorrow,” Draco said hurriedly, just wanting to get out of there.

“Can you come in early? Frank has asked for the morning off.”

“Fine. I’ll be here,” Draco groaned.

Then he turned around and walked out, still seething over the entire thing. He barely noticed Frank standing there when he exited the back room and almost didn’t say goodbye. But he finally looked up long enough to acknowledge him and Frank just laughed at the look on Draco’s face.

“I told you he’s stingy,” Frank reminded him.

“Yeah, you could say that. I don’t know how I’m supposed to live on this paltry salary,” Draco sighed.

“You can’t really. I just work here in the summer for spending money. I’d hate to be your age and still working here though. I’m gonna be an Auror one day,” Frank said dreamily.

“Yeah? Well good for you. I need to get to the bank. I’ll see you later,” Draco grumbled and left the shop to head to Gringotts.

He went and cashed his measly paycheck and got both Muggle and wizard money like Hermione said she always carried. Then he set off back towards home where he’d hopefully find the electronics store that Hermione mentioned to him. He walked aimlessly down the street and had no idea what he was looking for until he came upon a shop with televisions in the window so he went inside. The place was really big and had not just telly’s but stereos and computers and phones and cameras. You name it, they sold it. And he didn’t know where to even start. He missed Hermione’s presence because she always guided him through the shopping experience. But he figured he’d make due on his own. He wandered around and picked things up and put them all back because everything was expensive and unnecessary, even if he really wouldn’t mind having a computer someday. He was fascinated with them, even if he didn’t really know what they did. He just knew you could type stuff instead of writing with a quill and that was exciting to him. But he’d have to be far richer to afford one of those. He finally found all the telly’s in a big showroom at the back of the store. He really loved the big flat screen one that was showing some sort of football game on it. He stood there with rapt attention and watched the almost life sized players kick the ball around.

Just then a salesman came up to him and greeted him.

“Hello there. Can I help you?” he asked politely.

“Uh, yeah. I need a telly. But it has to be smaller than this huge one. I need something cheap,” he told him with a sigh. The day a Malfoy asked for something cheap he assumed the skies would rain toads, and yet, here he was.

The salesman showed him the smaller TV’s and pointed out that there was a sale going on where you got a DVD player for only twenty five pounds if you bought a certain brand of television.

“I like the sound of that. What are DVD’s?” Draco asked the man with confusion. All he knew was that it sounded like a good deal.

“You don’t know what a DVD player is?” the man seemed taken aback.

“No.”

“Okay… Well you play movies on it,” he explained like Draco was an idiot. “Here’s a DVD,” he said holding up a box of the movie Pulp Fiction. “I’ll throw this movie in for free if you get the special,” he added.

“A free movie? Sign me up then. How much is the telly itself?” Draco asked with a happy grin.

“It’s two hundred,” the man informed him.

“So then it’d be two twenty five with the DVD thingy?”

“Exactly. So shall I ring this up for you?”

“Alright. That still leaves me with a decent amount of money. Where else do you have movies? I’m curious what those are all about,” Draco said.

“You’re curious about movies? Have you never seen one before?” the salesman asked trying not to laugh at his weird clueless customer.

“I’ve seen a movie before, you half-wit. It was on a big screen though. I didn’t realize you could watch them at home,” Draco clarified to the man, which didn’t make him sound any less weird.

“Alright then. Movies are against that wall. Once you’re all ready, just let me know and I’ll ring up your purchases,” he sighed and walked away as Draco headed for the movie wall.

He looked at everything and had no idea what movies were good or not. The free movie was in his hand and he had no clue what that would be about either, but the girl on the cover looked hot. He supposed it must be a movie about writers or something since it had the word ‘fiction’ in the title. He didn’t bother to read the box. But he did pick up quite a few other movies and perused their boxes for pictures of hot women or dogs. He liked dogs. He hated cats, even if Hermione’s beast was starting to grow on him. But this just left Draco with several romantic comedies and the movie Marley and Me. He couldn’t resist the dog on the box. But he scooped everything up and found the salesman again.

“I’m all ready now,” he told him plunking the movies onto the counter.

“Ah, wonderful. I see you found several movies to your liking,” he said pleasantly as he noted Draco had a thing for chick flicks obviously.

Pulp Fiction was the only movie that wasn’t geared towards a female audience. But it wasn’t his place to judge Draco’s taste in movies. It was his job to make the sale. And that he did. Draco paid for everything and had a huge shopping bag full of movies along with the boxes for the DVD player and the telly. He wasn’t sure how he was going to carry them the four blocks back to his flat, but he loaded himself up as best he could and trudged back out onto the sidewalk. He had some difficulty carrying it all, but he made it home. Then he had to walk up the three floors to deposit it in his flat. He was relieved when he could put it down because his arms were killing him. But he didn’t know how to set anything up. He figured he’d wait until his telly stand arrived to worry about it. And that wasn’t supposed to be delivered until 2pm. It was only noon. So he set about moving around his boxes and stuff so he could make room for the furniture to have a place to sit. He really needed more than one bookshelf, but he supposed most of his junk could stay in boxes. Just perhaps he’d stack the boxes in a corner instead of lying them all around the room.

Once 2pm rolled around he waited anxiously in his bean bag chair for the delivery. He expected to see men carrying his sofa and other items, up the stairs. But when someone knocked on his door, all he saw was two men with several flat boxes stacked up in the hallway. Draco stared at that and became confused.

“Uh, excuse me, but where’s the furniture?” he asked with a bewildered expression.

“It’s right here, mate,” one of the men pointed to the boxes.

“But those are just boxes. And they’re flat. How do you fit a sofa in a box that flat?” he asked shaking his head.

“You gotta assemble the stuff yourself. Why do you think it’s so cheap?” the other man laughed at Draco.

“I have to assemble it myself? How the fuck do I do that?” Draco grumbled at the men.

“There are directions in the boxes. But you’ll need tools. Do you have tools?”

“No.”

“Sorry mate, you’re gonna need to borrow some tools then. You want us to bring these boxes in, or what?”

Draco just looked at him miserably and nodded his head. They dragged the boxes inside and laid them in the middle of the floor. Then they left Draco alone to his own devices. He just stared at everything and had no clue what to do. He didn’t budget money to buy tools. He wouldn’t even know which ones to buy anyway. He just hoped that maybe Hermione had tools. Would a woman have tools? She must. She lived alone and had furniture so someone must have put it together. He couldn’t even use magic to build it because there were no furniture building spells that he knew of. Even wizards made that stuff the old fashioned way usually. He was at a loss. So he just decided to go buy groceries until Hermione got home. He hoped she’d know what to do.

So he ventured out once again and went to the corner market. He looked at the items and wanted to get some decent food for a change, but everything was microwavable if it wasn’t too pricey. Luckily his flat came with a microwave though. It was about the only perk it had. So he loaded up his cart with frozen pizzas and waffles and more burritos and then headed off to the meat counter. He couldn’t really afford much but he was determined to get some chicken and hamburger meat at least. Shopping was very hard for him because he didn’t know how to cook really. So he made a trip back to the freezer section and got ice cream and a box of frozen fish sticks and decided to move on. He ended up with a cart halfway full of items and when he checked out, it cost a lot more than he anticipated. But luckily he still had leftover money from his mum, because his paycheck certainly wasn’t cutting it.

Once he was home, he put everything away and looked at the clock. It was almost time for Hermione to get home so he grabbed a can of Coke and sat down in his bean bag chair and looked at his three year old copy of the Daily Prophet. He heard Hermione rustling at her door and he jumped up and opened the door. He startled her as she was just getting ready to put her key in the lock and she jumped back.

“Oh! Draco! You scared the shit out of me,” she laughed as she caught her breath.

“Sorry. I was just eagerly awaiting your arrival. Did you have a good day at work?” he inquired as he went over and gave her a small kiss.

“It was hectic, but I’m glad it’s over now. How was your day?” she smiled at him.

“It was alright. Long story. I’ll tell you later. But for right now, do you have tools?” he asked quickly.

“Tools? Like power tools?” she asked with a curious expression.

“I don’t know. I just know I need them. My furniture is in boxes! They don’t even put it together for you. So it’s all just lying on the floor. I was hoping you had tools,” he said imploring her with his eyes.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you that the stuff you bought isn’t put together. I just assumed you knew. But I do have some tools, yes. You can borrow them. But for now, I’m knackered. I wanna get these shoes off and maybe have a glass of wine,” she said with a yawn.

“Okay. Well can I come in and hang out? It’s really boring in my flat because my telly isn’t hooked up and my furniture isn’t assembled. The only plus is that I have new lamps so it’s not dark anymore,” he told her happily.

“That’s good. And of course you can hang out. You don’t even need to ask. Just come in. You want some wine too?” she asked as she finally put her key in the lock and opened her door.

He followed her inside and shut the door behind him.

“I could take some wine if you have enough to share,” he told her.

“Of course I do. I have three bottles and I don’t think we’re going to get wasted tonight, are we?” she chuckled.

“Not unless you want to. I’m always up for drinking a lot. But I’m used to whiskey.”

“Well I have to get up early tomorrow so I’m not drinking myself silly tonight. But you can if you want?”

“Nah, I have to work tomorrow too. Sucks. You would not believe what that bastard did to my paycheck!”

Draco regaled Hermione with tales of his day, as she poured them wine and put two more Lean Cuisines in the microwave for them to eat. Draco didn’t ask to eat it, but she didn’t want to be rude, and she was starving. So she just handed him the dish and he thanked her for it. But then he kept talking about his day and Hermione kept trying not to laugh.

“And then when I saw the boxes lying in the hallway, all I could think was fuck me. My furniture got squashed by a troll. But no, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Can you even believe it?” he ranted and raved.

“I’ll help you put it together. Don’t worry,” she said trying to calm him down.

“Thanks. I really appreciate that. Do you suppose we could work on it now?” he asked her tentatively.

Hermione wasn’t really in the mood to put together furniture, but Draco’s eager little face had her changing her mind. She nodded her head.

“Sure, we can work on it. I don’t know if we can get it all together, but we’ll try. Let me just change my clothes and get more comfortable,” she told him, as she rose from the sofa and headed into the bedroom.

Draco just waited for her and Crookshanks jumped into his lap.

“Shoo! Go away!” he told the cat, trying to push him off, but the cat just snuggled down immediately and wouldn’t let go of Draco’s leg. Crookshanks was going to make Draco a cat person, even if it killed him apparently. So Draco just petted him on the head and sighed to himself. Soon Hermione appeared and she was in jeans and a t-shirt instead of her work clothes. And she was holding a small purple toolbox.

“I’m ready to go build some furniture!” she said trying to be enthusiastic.

They went over to Draco’s and Hermione was a little overwhelmed at all the boxes. But she supposed it looked worse than it really was. And she saw Draco’s bag of movies lying on the floor too.

“Ooh, you bought movies! What did you get?” she asked, picking up the bag.

“I didn’t know what any of them were so I picked them by which box had a pretty girl on the cover. Or a dog. There’s a dog movie in there somewhere,” he noted absently as he opened the sofa box and began pulling out pieces.

“You got every chick flick ever made, I believe. I figured you’d buy movies about explosions or something. And Marley and Me? You’re gonna hate that movie at the end.”

“Be quiet! I don’t wanna know! Don’t spoil them for me. And for your information I’ve seen enough destruction in my life to want to watch explosions. I’d prefer to look at sex instead,” he informed her.

She giggled slightly.

“Well then perhaps you should invest in some porno movies, because nothing you picked here features anyone naked. Just so you know,” she said to him.

“Really? Damn. Oh well. I suppose I could buy porno movies, but where would I get them?” he asked curiously.

“I was kidding about that, Draco! And I don’t know where you buy them. A sex store?” she offered.

“They have sex stores? What’s in there?” he asked with confusion.

“Oh God, I don’t wanna explain it. But they have toys and stuff. Sex toys. Not Legos or something, because I can see that being your next question,” she said quickly.

“Sex toys? Hmm, we might wanna look into that eh? Sounds fun,” he said wagging his eyebrows at her and scooping her up into a kiss.

“Let’s just put your furniture together, shall we?” she said, ready to get the show on the road.

Hermione went about organizing everything then she handed Draco a screwdriver.

“Get to work,” she told him with a grin. “Just follow the directions and put screw A into slot B. And so on and so forth.”

They worked in silence for a bit and Draco was getting the hang of using the screwdriver. But he couldn’t help but be bored. It wasn’t that exciting putting furniture together and he kept looking at Hermione who almost had his bookshelves done, while he was still working on the sofa.

“How are you doing this so fast?” he asked her impatiently.

“I’ve done it before. It’s just taking you longer because you’re new at it,” she explained.

“It’s really tedious. And my pile of wood doesn’t look like anything yet, while your shelves are almost done. I give up,” he sighed and threw the screwdriver down.

“Draco, you can’t give up. Don’t you want a nicely furnished flat?”

“Yes, but this sucks. Can’t I just wave my wand and make it all go together?” he whined to her.

She sighed and put down her own screwdriver.

“I’m sure there is a way to do it. But you learn more if you do it the Muggle way,” she told him.

“So then you do know a spell to put this shit together? Who wants to learn anything? Certainly not me. If there’s an easier way to do it, please show me,” he implored her.

“Oh alright. I’m not entirely positive how to do this so I might accidentally set your new sofa on fire. But I think if I just do this…” she said pulling out her wand and aiming it at the pile of screws and boards that was Draco’s sofa. “It will magically screw in all the screws for you.”

They watched as the screws took flight and the boards lifted and then the screws started floating around the room just narrowly missing hitting them. The boards fell to the ground at the screws jammed themselves into the wood like little darts, and missed their mark entirely.

“Uh, that didn’t work,” Draco said, looking at the newly planted screws that weren’t actually holding anything together. “You almost impaled us with screws,” he laughed at her.

“I’m not focused! I’ve never done this before! At least I tried. I’d like to see you do better,” she said sticking her tongue out at him.

“I think I’ll just do it the old fashioned way. Seems safer. Now how do I get these screws out again?” he asked with a sigh.

They both worked on getting the wayward screws out and then they set back to work again. It was getting late and Hermione was tired, but they managed to get everything done by the time the clock struck midnight. They sat back and surveyed their handiwork.

“Wow, it’s amazing. We actually did it!” Draco said proudly. She was right about one thing, it felt like more of an accomplishment to not use magic. However if her spell had worked, he wouldn’t have complained.

“I’m totally wiped out. And the wine I drank has gone straight to my head,” she noted the empty bottle she’d brought with her.

“Drunk eh?”

“A little bit. But that’s good because I’ll fall asleep faster,” she said with a yawn.

“So are you gonna leave then? I was thinking we’d take the new sofa for a spin. Break it in properly. You know you wanna sit on it with me,” he said as he plopped down on the black sofa and patted the empty spot next to him.

She got up and sat down with him and smiled.

“This turned out really well. But you do have some leftover screws and such. I think you did it wrong,” she noted the pile of screws lying in the baggie next to her feet.

“Eh, it holds our weight. I think those were just extras in case you lost something,” he remarked, unwilling to entertain the idea of starting over with it.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t see the leftovers then. But I wouldn’t get too vigorous on this sofa. It might collapse,” she giggled at him.

“Then let’s go to bed. You looked really cute putting together my furniture, you realize?” he said, giving her a smoldering glance.

“You looked beyond cute yourself trying to do all this. I find your cluelessness endearing,” she smiled at him.

“Endearing enough that you wanna hop into bed with me?” he asked kissing her neck.

She was very tired and had to get up early, but Draco’s kisses always had the effect of making her mush in his hands. She didn’t really protest, even if she could have fallen asleep immediately. She just kissed him and pulled him close until he grabbed her hands and pulled her up off the sofa.

“Let’s go to my room,” he said pulling her along.

She didn’t say no, but merely smiled and ran into the room with him. She threw off her clothes and laid on the bed invitingly.

“Come on Draco. Get naked. I have to be up in a few hours,” she reminded him.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” he said as he ripped off his shirt and his trousers and jumped in the bed next to her.

He began kissing her greedily and letting his hands roam her body. She made noises that indicated he was touching her in all the right places, so he kept going. But then Hermione got strangely quiet and unresponsive to him. That’s when he realized she’d fallen asleep. Part of him was highly disappointed, and the other part of him was highly amused. He just kissed her forehead and pulled the sheets up over her naked body and snuggled up next to her. He supposed there would be other times to be intimate and he could wait. He just felt bad that she tired herself out so much by putting his furniture together. He wasn’t sure what he did to deserve someone like Hermione in his life, but he wasn’t complaining. She was the most amazing woman he’d ever met, and he just wished he’d realized that earlier back in school when he used to make such fun of her. He didn’t know why she forgave him his trespasses, but he was incredibly grateful for it. He loved her so much and they hadn’t even been together that long. And Draco wasn’t one to fall in love so quickly, or at all. But she was special. And he hoped one day he could do something to show her just how much he appreciated her. But for now, he’d settle for cuddling her the rest of the night just so he could prove to himself that she was really his.

 

To be continued….

Thanks to everyone who is reading this! Please leave comments so I’ll know if you’re liking it or not. Thanks again!


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione confront her friends with their relationship

Draco’s work week was uneventful for the most part. People kept coming in and demanding ice cream, and he unhappily obliged them. He hated the job now more than ever, because he saw just how little money he was making. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to afford to pay his rent. He didn’t understand how common people did such things. Not on this paltry salary. He was already broke again almost, except for the small amount of money left that his mum gave him. Part of him just wanted to go home and have his mummy take care of him again. But he was too proud to go asking for money, lest they try and rope him into sticking around and marrying him off. He wanted to prove he could do this. Except it was really hard. Harder than anything he’d ever done. At the end of the day, his feet were still killing him and he had no money left to buy proper shoes for work. Or rather, if he spent the money on shoes, he really wouldn’t make his rent. So he just tried to get by with what he had. But when he made his way home today, he was in a foul mood. Some kid had dropped their sundae on the floor and Draco had to clean it up, which really got on his nerves. It was a mess and he had ice cream in his hair when all was said and done. He was ready to just take a shower and drink himself senseless with the bottle of whiskey he splurged on.

Hermione had just gotten home herself when she heard Draco at his door. She smiled and opened up her door to greet him. She was met with a scowl and she made a sad face at him.

“What’s wrong Draco?” she asked curiously. “You look like someone died.”

He sighed loudly.

“The only person who died was the old Draco. Man I miss him. The old Draco wouldn’t have ice cream in his hair right now.”

“Aww, tough day at work?” she said, patting him on the back.

“The worst. I’m just not cut out for this whole working for a living thing. How do you do it?” he wondered unhappily.

“I don’t know. I just do it. But I suppose my job is a lot different than yours. Do you want to come inside and drink that whiskey or would you rather be alone?” she asked him.

“I don’t want to be alone. But I’m terrible company tonight, I’m afraid. I just want to drink this and mourn my old life. But first, a shower. Join me?” he asked trying to find a glimmer of goodness in his bad day.

“If I join you, will that put a smile on your face?” she inquired with a small smile of her own.

“It might. Can I use your shower? You have better shampoo than I do. Mine is cheap and makes my hair frizzy. Plus I like the way your soap smells. It’s like coconuts on an island,” he said dreamily.

“Oh alright. You can shower at my place. Why don’t you go get some new clothes and I’ll get the shower going. Just come on in when you’re ready,” she told him as she gave him a quick kiss.

“I won’t be long,” he told her, trying to smile.

Then he went inside and put his bottle down and his bag so he could grab some extra clothes to wear. Then he went back over to Hermione’s and heard the shower going. He smiled and thanked his lucky stars that he had an amazing girlfriend at least. It was the only thing good he had in this life. He threw the clothes on her bed and ripped off his present clothing and threw it in a pile. Then he went to the bathroom and found an already naked Hermione waiting for him. She smiled and went over to kiss him and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“I love you. You know exactly what I need after a shit day,” he whispered into her hair.

“I love you too, Draco. And I do my best for you. I know life is hard right now, but I know it’ll get better. I actually have some fun news to share,” she said as she opened the shower curtain and stepped inside. He followed after her and shut the curtain behind him.

“What’s the fun news? Are we going on a holiday? Because I could use one right about now,” he told her as he let the spray of the water rain down over his ice cream filled hair.

“No, I’m afraid it’s not that fun. But I have tickets to see a Quidditch match this Sunday. And it’s your day off too! Doesn’t that sound like a good time?” she said happily, as she put her arms around his slippery body and pressed herself up against him.

“A Quidditch match? Really? Who’s playing?” he asked with his interest piqued.

“The Holyhead Harpies and the Montrose Magpies.”

“Oh so no Chudley Cannons eh?” he asked as he started washing his hair.

“Afraid not. You see, Ginny plays for the Holyhead Harpies and she got us free tickets,” she explained as she scrubbed Draco’s back with her loofah sponge.

“Ginny? You mean Weasley? Am I gonna have to see the rest of your mates at this match too?” he complained.

“Well, yeah. Everyone will be there. But we don’t have to sit with them if you don’t want to,” she offered.

“No, I don’t want to sit with them. And they’d probably rather die than sit with me too. This sounds like an awful time, honestly,” he said shaking his head.

“Oh come on. It’ll be fun. I reckon you haven’t been to a match in quite some time. I thought you’d be more pleased,” she pouted.

“I’m sorry. I would be pleased except I can’t stand your mates. And you know what they’re like to me. It’s a nightmare,” he explained.

“I realize that, but like I said, we can sit by ourselves. I’ll even let you root for the other team if you want to?” she tried to entice him.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Okay, then I’ll go. But if your mates want us to sit with them, I’m going home,” he told her firmly.

“Check. I’ll make sure we aren’t sitting with them. Though they will wonder why. But I haven’t told anyone we’re together yet. I can already hear the chorus of complaints in my head and I don’t want to deal with it,” she remarked.

“They don’t know about us?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No.”

“Think they’ll disown you too if you tell them?”

“Maybe. It’s not that I’m scared exactly, but I just know it’ll be a headache. And it’s not really their business. I guess that’s why I’ve not said anything yet. I don’t want to make a huge deal out of it,” she shrugged.

“Well I for one think it’ll be funny as fuck to see their reactions. Especially the Weasel. He hates me more than anyone for some reason. Of course I hate him too,” he noted.

“We’ll just try and keep to ourselves, okay? I don’t want some sort of brawl at this match. I want to enjoy seeing Ginny play,” she admonished him.

“I don’t give two shits about Ginny, honestly. I’ll be rooting for the Magpies,” he stuck his tongue out at her.

“Traitor. But fine. Just don’t go looking for trouble, and hopefully it won’t find us. I don’t know if I’m ready yet to tell the world we’re dating,” she admitted.

“What? Why? Do you honestly care what your mates think that much?” he asked, feeling put out by her statement.

“I do care. A little. They’d never understand. Obviously it didn’t stop me from falling for you, but sharing the news with them will only make things difficult. Why ruin a good thing?” she asked, trying to appease him.

“Screw that though. I mean, my mum caught us making out in my bean bag chair. I didn’t try to tell her you were just my platonic friend. And I lost everything because of it. Remember that one?” he said, beginning to get insulted.

“Calm down, Draco. It’s not like I’m never telling them. It’s just Ginny’s game might not be the best place to go public. I don’t want to mess things up with anyone,” she told him.

“Oh I see. I’m the dirty little secret eh? Fine. Be that way. If I still had friends, I’d tell them about us. And I wouldn’t care what they thought because I love you,” he said adamantly, as he pulled the shower curtain open and hopped out.

“Draco, stop. Come on. Don’t be like that. You didn’t even take advantage of me when I’m all wet and soapy!” she called out after him.

“I’m not in the mood!” he called back to her as he grabbed a towel and dried himself off.

He heard the shower shut off and Hermione stepped out and grabbed her own towel.

“Look, if it means that much to you, I’ll tell everyone about us, okay? But you’re the one who said you didn’t want to sit with them or see them. I thought I was doing you a favor!” she said getting annoyed with his angry huff.

“I don’t wanna sit with them, but I’m irritated you won’t tell them we’re together. Not because I want to fight, but because I don’t want to be a secret. I didn’t keep you secret, so why should I be relegated to that?” he said trying to get through to her.

“Alright, point taken. I get it. I need to tell them. And I will. It’s just, does it have to be tonight? Can’t I just bring you to the match and introduce you as my boyfriend before we scurry off to our own seats?” she sighed as she dried her hair off.

“Fine. As long as they know. It really shouldn’t be so hard. I mean, what’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you. It’s just you know how my friends are. I had no idea you cared if they knew about us or not,” she said in her defense.

Draco just wrapped his towel around his waist and sighed.

“I don’t know why I care, but I do. I guess because I think it’s stupid to hide our relationship from people. Eventually they’re gonna have to know. Right?”

“Right. I know that. I guess it’s just been nice having you all to myself.”

“I like having you all to myself too, but I still think they should know. I don’t want to hide what we have,” he told her seriously.

“I get it. I know. We’ll tell them. But we’re still not sitting with them because I know it’ll be a nightmare. And you know that too,” she pointed out to him.

“I know, they all hate me. We all hate each other. But they at least should know the truth,” he explained.

“Alright. Duly noted. We will go to the match and I’ll tell them. Then we can run off to our own seats,” she said with a small smile.

“Sounds good to me. I’m still not rooting for Ginny’s team though. It’ll be more fun if we’re rooting for different sides anyway,” he smiled back at her.

“You’re awful, but I understand. Why root for someone you don’t like? I just thought the Quidditch would be fun for you. I know how you love it.”

“I do love it. And it will be fun. Thanks for inviting me.”

“Don’t thank me for that. Of course I’d invite you. There’s no one else I’d rather spend the day with,” she said, giving him a kiss.

“Me neither. You’re the one I want to do everything with now. I feel all lost without you. Is that what love is like?” he wondered, kissing her back.

“Yes, that’s what it’s like. Have you never been in love before?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“No, I haven’t. Not really. I mean, part of me thought I loved Pansy back at Hogwarts, but she was really insufferable to be honest. I was only with her because she was there. It wasn’t love. Plus I was fifteen. Things are different now. I’m different now. I don’t even recognize myself most days.”

“I think you’ve made some vast improvements, if you want my opinion,” she said, holding him close to her.

“Yeah? Well I suppose being poor and losing everything can humble a person, that’s for sure,” he admitted.

“It does humble a person. And I think you’re better for it, no matter how hard life might seem right now,” she assured him with a kiss.

“What do you say we skip getting dressed and fall into your comfy bed instead? After all, I did miss out on taking advantage of a naked, wet and soapy you,” he said with a smoldering look.

“You’ve talked me into it. Maybe it’ll put you in a better mood?” she offered as she took his hand and led them into her bedroom.

He scooped her up and discarded their towels and tossed her on the bed. He swooped down and kissed her hungrily, while letting his hands run all over her naked body. He could feel her nipples stiffen under his touch and he quickly pinched them slightly before taking one into his mouth. She arched her back and moaned and he just sucked harder, while playing with the other nipple between his nimble fingers. He kissed his way up her neck and began sucking the flesh under her ear, while gently nipping her with his teeth. He wanted to mark her as his own so that when the time came for her friends to know, they’d see the evidence of their love on her. And Hermione wasn’t stopping him, so he bit her neck harder as he reached between her legs and felt her warmth engulf his fingertips. He dipped two of his fingers inside her and worked them in and out, causing her to grab his hair and press his face into her neck even harder.

He managed to break free of her grasp and made his way down to her breasts again. He began sucking her nipples, alternating back and forth, while his fingers continued their ministrations between her legs. She gasped out when she felt his thumb playing over her clit and she wanted so badly to have him inside her.

“Hmm, I want you to fuck me, Draco,” she uttered in the throes of lust.

“Really now? You want me inside you?” he teased her breathlessly.

“Yes,” she moaned.

“Mmm, not until you come for me first,” he told her, as he slipped a third finger inside her and rubbed her clit harder.

She gasped out in pleasure at the full feeling of his fingers and she began writhing underneath him. All she could think in her head was, ‘more, more!’ because it felt so good, but she couldn’t get the words out. Instead she made little moans and a stifled scream as he pushed his fingers into her faster and harder. As he sucked and licked her nipples, he felt her walls beginning to clench around his fingers. He rubbed her clit even more enthusiastically and he saw her grip the sheets tightly as her head lolled back.

“I’m gonna come, Draco! Yes! Keep going!” she cried out and it made him work even harder on her.

Then all at once, he felt he tumble over that edge and he could feel the delightful spasms of her orgasm on his fingers, before he pulled them out and rubbed them over her clit again which sent her into another wave of orgasm. She lay there spent and out of breath, but Draco wasn’t done yet. He kissed her greedily before grabbed her legs and putting them over his shoulders. He guided himself into her and thrust deeply, letting out his own low moan. She felt so tight and wet and hot that he almost lost it immediately, but he recovered himself and kept fucking her, propelled along by her urgent pleas to do it harder and faster. He obliged her and pushed her legs back so he could go deeper. They were both in utter bliss as he pounded away before flipping her over onto her knees where he re-entered her from behind. He grabbed her damp hair and pushed himself into her until neither one of them could contain themselves any longer. With one final thrust he emptied himself into her and collapsed his weight onto her back, where in her knees gave way and they both lay on the bed together, breathing heavily. All their work in the shower was for naught because now they were both a sweaty mess, but neither of them cared. Not when they both experienced such ecstasy.

Draco finally rolled off of her, so he wasn’t crushing her under his weight and she rolled over off her stomach and put her arm around Draco.

“Mmm, I love you,” she uttered with hooded eyes, still filled with lust.

“I love you too,” he whispered back as he kissed her forehead and brushed her wayward hair out of her eyes.

“Suddenly I feel like telling the whole world about us,” she admitted with a small giggle.

“Really now? You gonna tell your mates about our amazing shag fest?” he laughed slightly.

“If I did, it’d be a surefire way to see the gang puke on my shoes,” she laughed and shook her head.

“I think it’d be funny, aside from your shoes getting ruined,” he chuckled.

“Perhaps I’m not going to tell them about all the shagging we do, but I will tell them you’re in my heart,” she said, reaching over to touch his face.

“You’re in my heart too. You own real estate there. Like a big mansion. Right in my heart,” he smiled at her.

“You have a mansion in my heart too,” she kissed his lips softly.

“It’s moments like this when I forget my life and just focus on how amazing you make me feel. Right now, I feel very rich and lucky. Even if I’m poor and disadvantaged. You make me feel like a king again,” he told her sincerely.

“You were never a king,” she pointed out as she nipped his shoulder with her teeth.

“I thought I was. Same difference. And you bring it all back to me,” he admitted.

“With you, I feel like a queen, so I guess we’re royalty.”

“We are. The king and queen of West Main Street. This is our building and we rule over it,” he said envisioning the dream.

She just giggled at him and pulled him closer to her. They knew they didn’t have much, especially Draco. But they did have each other. And that was something that was far more important than riches or material things. They found a love that neither of them knew existed, and they found it in the last place they’d ever think to look. Hermione was nervous to go public with this relationship, but Draco was right. He told his mum so why shouldn’t she tell her friends? No one was ever going to approve or like it, but that didn’t mean they needed to hide it. So she braced herself for impact on Sunday, but with Draco by her side, she felt like she could conquer anything. No matter how scary. He made her feel safe.

When Sunday rolled around, they headed to the Quidditch match and they were both nervous as hell. They knew without a doubt that no one expected Hermione to bring Draco at all, much less announce they were a couple. But they both wanted to get it over with, so they stood there holding hands, while dozens and dozens of eager fans pushed past them. They were trying to get up enough courage to actually enter the stands where her friends presumably already were waiting. They were expecting Hermione to sit with them, but that wasn’t going to happen. But she still knew she had to see them and tell them her secret. So she steeled herself and pulled Draco through the crowd and up the stairs to the seating area.

They looked around and found Ron and Harry sitting right in front on the balcony. Along with George and his wife Angelina. Draco saw them and bristled immediately, but he forced himself to regain his composure to try and be the better man. If they insulted him, he’d try his hardest not to insult them back. But he wasn’t sure how it was going to go. But just then, Harry saw Hermione and he jumped up and waved her over. She took Draco’s hand and pulled him reluctantly with her and they made their way over to them.

“Just smile,” Hermione said through clenched teeth.

“I’m trying to,” he said with a fake smile plastered on his face.

“Hermione!” Harry yelled as he waved her over. But then his expression fell when he saw who she had on her arm. Malfoy. What the hell was he doing here? Harry wondered to himself. But he attempted to smile as they now stood in front of him.

“Hello Harry. And everyone else,” Hermione waved at them all.

“What’s he doing here? And why are you holding his hand?” Ron asked with confusion and distaste.

“Yeah, what gives, Hermione? Aren’t you taking this whole charity case thing a little too far?” Harry wondered.

“For your information, Draco is not a charity case. He’s my boyfriend,” Hermione announced with more confidence than she really felt.

“Your boyfriend?” Everyone in the group asked in unison, with enormous shock.

“Yes. What of it? Hermione sees through my rough side and into my good side and loves me for who I am,” Draco told them all proudly as he held her hand tighter.

“What? Loves you? You love him?” Harry asked with a confused expression.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Ron said, holding his stomach dramatically.

Hermione was about to say something else, when George just burst out laughing. He didn’t have anything rude to say apparently, but he found the whole thing highly entertaining.

“What’s so funny?” Draco asked George with irritation.

“What’s funny? This is funny! You and Hermione together? Now who woulda thunk that eh?” George said between bursts of laughter.

“It’s not funny, George. Nor is it nauseating,” Hermione said, looking at Ron. “It just is. And I hope you lot can accept my choice and not give me a hard time.”

“Accept your choice? Are you crazy, Hermione? What’s gotten into you? We all hated Malfoy. You punched him in the face! And now you’re saying you’re in love with him? Did he hit you over the head and give you brain damage?” Harry wondered, feeling very overprotective of Hermione.

“Harry, I don’t have brain damage!”

“Could have fooled me,” Ron chimed in.

“Look, I don’t care what any of you think. Draco is my boyfriend. So if you don’t accept that, we’re going to sit elsewhere. I just wanted you all to know what was happening in my life. And now you know. So we’ll be heading elsewhere,” Hermione told them, just wanting to run away from the uncomfortable situation.

“No, don’t leave!” George piped up. “There’s room enough here for you two to sit. Just because you have weird taste in men is no reason to sit elsewhere. We’ll be nice.”

“We will be?” Ron asked his brother with confusion.

“Yes, we will be. Hermione is a good friend. She’s part of this group. And if you shun her because she’s boning someone you don’t like, then that’s just wrong,” George informed his younger brother.

“Um, can we not say boning please?” Harry piped up, making a face.

“Yeah, I second that,” Hermione squeaked out. Then she looked at George. “You’re really not upset at my choice?”

“Me? No. I don’t care. You’re a big girl. And Malfoy here looks like he’s been knocked down a few pegs. I heard all about his Scoopy’s job. Which might I add, you could find a better place to work,” George said directly to Draco.

“And just where should I be working? No one would hire me,” Draco informed him.

“You didn’t come to my store. I would have hired you,” George shrugged.

“You would have?” Ron and Draco both asked at the same time.

“Yes.”

“George, have you lost your mind too? I understand why Hermione is crazy now, because Draco is a good looking bloke. Even if he is a dickwad. But you? Are you mesmerized by his eyes too or what?” Ron asked befuddled.

“Look, I say let bygones be bygones. And if I could be Draco’s boss? Well that would be hilarious! You gotta admit it would be a riot,” George said to his brother.

“It would be kind of funny,” Ron admitted with a small grin.

“Look, I’m not gonna work for you two buffoons just because you think it’s funny. I’m different now! You don’t even know me. Hermione is the only one who knows me,” Draco informed them.

“That’s because none of us want to know you,” Harry said giving Hermione a concerned look.

“Fine. Don’t even put the effort in. We’re going to sit elsewhere. The match will be starting soon and we need to sit down,” Draco told them as he took Hermione’s hand again and attempted to pull her away from her friends.

“Wait! George is right. Don’t go. Just sit with us. We’ll try and be nice and wrap our heads around this strange development,” Harry said, not willing to let Hermione out of his sight right now. He felt like she needed him and his guidance to curb the huge mistake she was making.

“We’ll only stay if everyone plays nicely,” she informed them all.

“I won’t say a word, even if I really want to,” Ron said with a sigh.

“I promise I’ll keep my lips zipped,” Harry held up his hand.

“I’m the one who originally said you could sit here,” George shrugged.

“I have no opinion really,” Angelina chimed in after being totally silent the entire time.

“I’m afraid I don’t even know you. What’s your name?” Draco asked Angelina.

“It’s Angelina. I was in your potions class for two years,” she said making a face at him.

“Really? Guess I didn’t notice you. Sorry. My circle was very small in school. But I never wronged you, did I?” Draco asked curiously.

“No. I didn’t even really know you. I just saw you around. And let’s face it, everyone knew your name. Kind of like Harry,” Angelina pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess I used to be somebody. But now I’m just a guy. And I work at a fucking ice cream shop. So I don’t need anyone’s grief about what a git I used to be. I’m obviously not like that anymore or Hermione wouldn’t be with me,” Draco explained.

“That’s right you know. He’s different. Otherwise I wouldn’t have fallen for him. I’m not crazy! So everyone stop looking at me like I am crazy,” she chided them all.

“Fine, we’ll be quiet,” Harry said, feeling uncomfortable with the whole thing.

“I’ll do my best, but I make no promises,” Ron said shaking his head.

“I’ll be nice. In fact, me and Angelina will be like Switzerland. We’re neutral. I’m just here to watch my sister play and kick ass,” George chimed in.

“Okay, we’ll sit here then. Or do you really want to go elsewhere?” Hermione asked Draco.

“It doesn’t matter to me, love. You know I wanted to sit alone, but if your mates are really going to be nice, then it’s fine,” Draco sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.

“Okay. It’s settled then. We’ll sit. But if you lot can’t keep your mouths shut, we’re moving,” Hermione said, as she scooted Ron and Harry over and pulled Draco down next to her.

It was silent in their group for a long time, until Draco decided to speak up.

“So Ginny eh? She’s pretty good at this game?” he asked George, because he was the safest person to ask.

“Ginny is spectacular. Just wait and see,” George smiled.

“Yeah, Ginny is amazing at this,” Harry agreed.

“Good on her then. But I’ll be rooting for the Magpies,” Draco announced.

“What? Why?” Ron wanted to know.

“Because I can,” Draco shrugged.

“Ugh. You really want this prat sitting with us? He’s not even gonna root for the right team!” Ron said, looking at everyone else.

“Just think of it as a friendly competition. Anyone wanna place some bets as to who will win?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to make it interesting.

“I’ll take that bet,” George said with a grin.

“Me too,” Harry chimed in.

“Me three,” Ron raised his hand.

“Draco, you can’t gamble your money away!” Hermione scolded him.

“Relax, I’m not putting much on the line. How about five galleons says the Magpies win. That means I get twenty galleons if I win. Twenty! Unless Angelina isn’t up for the bet?” Draco looked at her.

“Oh alright. I’ll bet five galleons too. You’ve never seen Ginny play really. You’re going to lose,” Angelina informed him.

“She’s right, Draco. You’ve never seen her play. You can’t afford to lose all your money!” Hermione was upset with him.

“Just relax. I’m not gonna lose. I have a good feeling about this,” Draco smiled.

Hermione just gave up and wondered if Draco even had the money he put on the line. She knew if he did have it, it was likely all he had. But she kept her mouth shut and let him do what he was gonna do. At least no one was fighting actively at this point.

Soon the game started and the players were in the air. Everyone but Draco was rooting for the Harpies to win, but it was a rough start. Their keeper got hit in the face with a bludger and fell off their broom. A penalty was called, but their keeper was too disoriented to continue, so they threw in a second string. But not before the Magpies scored several points. Ginny was doing remarkably well for her part, but it didn’t help when the rest of the team was tanking badly. She was only one person. And no matter how hard they cheered for her, the Magpies kept getting points. And then it was a battle to see who could catch the snitch first. It was looking like a very big long shot that the Harpies would win, and Draco was beside himself with happiness. When the Magpies made another goal, he stood up and shouted and clapped his little heart out. Then he looked at the group.

“Suck it, losers! My team is wiping the floor with your team!” he announced proudly.

“There’s still a chance! If the Harpies catch the snitch, it could be all over,” Harry said, never taking his eyes off the game.

“Fat chance. They still need more points. I’m gonna win this bitch!” Draco said happily.

And before anyone had a chance to call him obnoxious or say anything rude, the Magpies caught the snitch, effectively ending the game. Ginny’s team lost. And it was a big loss. Everyone groaned in disappointment, except Draco. He held out his hands and did a little victory dance.

“Show me the money!” he chanted, after having just seen Jerry Maguire the other night. It was one of his chick flicks he’d purchased and now he was chanting to the group, much to their annoyance.

“Ugh, I can’t believe Malfoy won the bet!” Ron complained as he reached into his pockets and pulled out the galleons he owed.

Everyone else handed over their money too, and Draco sat back smugly and counted it.

“That’s twenty galleons for Draco, and none for you!” he laughed maniacally.

“Calm down, honey. You’re making an ass of yourself,” Hermione sighed, but was really relived he won. If he hadn’t, she’d likely be feeding him for the next two weeks.

“I told you I would win!” he told her happily.

“Did you do something to make the Harpies lose? Did you curse them?” Harry asked suspiciously.

“No. Of course not! I just had a feeling the other team was better. And I was right. You lot are just sore you had to cough up money to me, of all people,” Draco pointed out.

“You’re not wrong there,” Ron admitted with a sigh.

“This was the most fun I’ve had in a while,” Draco said dreamily.

“Come on, Mr. Big Shot. The game is over. We should go,” Hermione said, grabbing his arm.

“Really? Already?”

People were all filing out of the stadium but Draco didn’t notice right away because he was basking in his glory. But he reluctantly agreed to get up and leave, and the rest of the group followed suit. They ended up outside the stadium, and Harry wanted to wait for Ginny to come out. She was the only one who had no idea about Malfoy and Hermione, although she may have seen them in the crowd. But Harry wanted to tell her and to comfort her from the loss, but Draco didn’t want to stick around.

“I don’t need to see Ginny. You can tell her our good news for us. And mention how I whipped your asses with the bet. Hermione and I are leaving now,” Draco said taking her hand.

“Tell Ginny I thought she was great. And that I’m sorry she lost. But Draco is right. We should go,” Hermione told them all.

“Not so fast. I want to speak to Draco for a minute,” Harry said seriously.

“Ugh, what for, Potter?” Draco groaned.

“We need to have a little chat,” Harry said with his serious face on.

“Fine.”

They walked over to the side and Harry stared Draco down.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of spell Hermione is under, but I swear if you hurt her, I will kill you,” Harry informed him.

“She’s not under a spell. Do you really think I’d do that?” Draco scoffed.

“I don’t know what you’re capable of, honestly. So yeah, I kinda think you might have her under a spell. A love spell. Or something!” Harry said frantically.

“It’s not a love spell. What would I really have to gain? I want someone to love me for me. Not because of a spell. And I’d never hurt her. I love her,” Draco explained to a confused and angry Harry.

“Blech. I don’t need to hear that. It’s just if you so much as make her cry even once, I will end you. And Ron will help me. We love her a lot more than you do and we’re just looking out for her,” Harry explained.

“You don’t love her more than me. Trust me. But fine. If it makes you happy to threaten me, then go ahead. I’m not going to hurt her or make her cry. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Draco told him.

“She’s pretty damn special, you got that right. She has a soft spot for the underdog, which would be you this time. So don’t break her heart,” Harry said firmly.

“I won’t! God, you people are so annoying. Can’t you let Hermione live her own life without you guys butting in?” Draco wondered with irritation.

“I do let her live her own life, but I get worried when I see her making a huge mistake.”

“You really think I’m a huge mistake? I make her happy,” Draco said vehemently.

“Yeah, right,” Harry scoffed.

“You don’t think she’s happy? Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Draco challenged him. “Hey Hermione! Do I make you happy?” he called out to her.

She just turned around and looked at him for a moment, then she realized Harry was still interrogating him. She decided to go over there.

“What’s this all about? Of course you make me happy,” she said, putting her arm around Draco.

“Harry here doesn’t think I do. He thinks I’m a big mistake,” Draco informed her.

She gave Harry a disapproving look.

“Harry, I love you, but please stay out of my business. You don’t know how I feel or what I want because you never asked me! And I’m telling you all right now that Draco makes me happy, so I don’t much care if you approve or not,” she said heatedly.

Harry held up his hands.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you mad. I just don’t trust Malfoy at all. And there was a time when you didn’t either. He could just be playing with you,” Harry pointed out.

“Playing with me? Do you think I’ve fallen for some long con wherein Draco will steal all my money and leave me penniless and broken hearted?” she wanted to know.

“I don’t know! Maybe? All I know is what he used to be like. And you both say he’s changed, but I haven’t seen it yet. He was placing bets against Ginny’s team!”

“So? It made it interesting didn’t it?” Draco chimed in. “Besides, I just like to get under your skin. I already knew you hated me, so why not annoy the fuck out you while I’m at it?”

“Interesting to you means annoying, then I take it?” Harry asked.

“God, would you have liked me more if I was cheering for your girlfriend instead? I didn’t much think you really gave a shit who I rooted for. Are we really arguing about this?” Draco wondered.

“Okay, that’s enough! Both of you! I’ve seen enough of your testosterone poisoning to last a lifetime,” Hermione interjected. “Harry, I appreciate your concern, but I’m a big girl and don’t need your protection. And Draco? You need to stop purposely trying to annoy people. Got it?”

She had chastised them both and neither one of them knew what to say. So they just hung their heads down and Harry decided to go back to his other friends and leave Hermione and Draco alone. He looked at her.

“Am I in trouble? Did I do a bad thing?” he asked quietly.

“No, you’re not in trouble. But really? A bet against Ginny’s team? What would you have done if you lost? You don’t have the money to waste!” she scolded him.

“I know, but I got caught in the moment. And the bonus is, I didn’t lose! I’m twenty galleons richer now. That makes up for the money I lost due to my work shirt and those blasted sprinkles I tossed on Ron.”

“Look, I’m not going to get on your case, but you really need to manage your money better now. Maybe you could make frivolous bets before, but you can’t now. And also, I just wanted to say sorry,” she added, hanging her head down.

“Sorry for what?”

“Sorry that Harry is being such a pain in the ass. He’s very overprotective of me,” she explained.

“Oh that. Well, it’s okay. If I were him, I might be the same way. I know I don’t have a glowing history with you and your mates. But all I really want is a chance,” Draco admitted.

“I know. Maybe you should meet Ginny properly instead of us running away? She might be more forgiving of my choice?” she offered.

“I highly doubt that. But if you wanna say hi to her, then we’ll stick around. Otherwise, I’m ready to leave.”

She took his hand and pulled him back towards the small group and he was intent on keeping his mouth shut. That way if any shit started, he couldn’t be blamed. It seemed to be taking forever for Ginny to emerge, and everyone just stood around not talking to anyone. It was highly uncomfortable, and George decided to break the silence. He looked at Draco.

“So Draco, do you want to move up in the world at Diagon Alley? Because I really need a sales associate at the joke shop and I think you’d be good at it,” George told him.

Draco and Ron both looked at him oddly and said, “Huh?” in unison.

“I said I think Draco would be perfect, don’t you think so Ron?” George reiterated.

“Uh, no. I think he’d be horrible at it. You have to be nice to work in sales,” Ron pointed out.

“I am nice! Sometimes. Look, when I’m paid to be nice, I can be nice. Do you know how hard it is to be courteous to hordes of needy people who want ice cream on a hot day? I manage to do that,” Draco said defensively.

“See, now the joke shop is much better than scooping ice cream. Plus you get to wear a suit and not that hideous polka dot shirt and the pink hat,” George informed him.

“I didn’t know you knew about the outfit,” Draco said with confusion.

“I have been in there before. Just not since you started. But I see the dead expression on the workers faces. That’s no place to be. Join us at our shop,” George smiled at him.

“Why are you giving him a job? Didn’t we all agree we couldn’t stand the guy?” Ron asked getting irritated.

“I say bygones. And honestly, it would feel very good to have Malfoy call me his boss. I’d have to control my laughter every time I heard him refer to me as such. A Malfoy working for a Weasley! Even our folks will get a kick out of that one,” George explained with a jovial laugh.

“Look, I’m not some joke that you and your family can laugh at! I have some pride. I don’t want your stupid job if it means I have to be subjected to laughter at my expense. Plus, no telling what you’ll make me do there. Clean the toilets? No way,” Draco said shaking his head.

“Yeah, no way,” Ron agreed, with a nod.

“I’ll pay you time and half what you’re making now,” George dangled the carrot in front of his face.

This got Draco’s attention.

“Time and a half? Are you serious?” he asked eagerly.

“Yep. And you can burn your old uniform if you want. What do you say?” George inquired.

Draco looked at Hermione and she just shrugged. She wasn’t sure why George was doing this, but she was grateful someone in her circle was actually trying to help Draco. Even if it was for the sake of having something to lord over his head. But the extra money would be incredibly worth it. And Draco had to concur. He nodded his head.

“Alright. When do I start then?” Draco asked.

“How about tomorrow?”

“I have to give some sort of notice to Mr. Cox. I don’t want to be rude,” he said frowning slightly.

“Well you can give him notice if you want, but does he really deserve it?” George asked, knowing that Mr. Cox was notoriously unpleasant to his employees. Everyone in Diagon Alley knew how stingy he was.

“You do make a point. He doesn’t deserve my notice. I’ll just go in and quit. He can’t stop me,” Draco said, getting in the spirit of his new job.

“Nope he can’t stop you. So I’ll see you tomorrow around eleven then?” George said.

“Eleven. And I get to wear a suit?”

“Yeah. Pinstripes are preferable, but if you don’t have that, then a regular suit works. I like my employees to look sharp. Ron hates me for it. He doesn’t like dressing up,” George ribbed his brother.

“I hate it, honestly. And I hate this entire idea too. I have to work with Malfoy now? Are you shitting me? First Hermione has brain damage, and now it’s contagious? I don’t understand,” Ron complained.

“You get to tell Draco what to do, Ronnie. Lighten up. It’s going to be fun,” George laughed slightly.

“Don’t call me Ronnie. I hate that too. And I suppose you do have a point that it’ll be fun to order him around. But still,” Ron pouted.

“Look you two can order me around all you want and I promise it’ll be better than scooping ice cream. I don’t care. I just want the money. And frankly, it’s too good of an offer for me to turn down, even if it’s a joke to you guys,” Draco said, feeling his pride fly out the window.

Normally he’d never stoop so low as to work for a Weasley, especially when they openly said they were hiring him for the sheer pleasure of ordering him around. But the money was too enticing. There’s no way he could live on Scoopy’s salary. No matter how frugal he was. So he couldn’t pass this opportunity up.

“Then it’s settled. Draco starts tomorrow. And Ron? You’ll get used to it,” George said with a grin.

“I for one am thankful you offered Draco this job. He really needs it. But please don’t get carried away with the insults. Just give him a real chance,” Hermione pleaded with George and Ron.

“I will give him every chance to prove himself. Promise,” George held up his hand.

“I guess I can try and keep my mouth shut. But I can’t promise,” Ron admitted.

“I think everyone here is a crazy person,” Harry said throwing his hands in the air. He was outnumbered with his distaste for Malfoy. George and Ron were giving him a job and Hermione was dating him. It felt like the earth fell off its axis and was slowly hurtling towards the sun.

Just then, Ginny emerged from the locker room and had her broom over her shoulder. She looked tired and pissed off. Then she saw Draco standing there and gave him a dirty look.

“What’s he doing here?” she asked unhappily.

“He came with Hermione,” Harry explained. “You did good, Gin. You played your best.” Harry gave his girlfriend a kiss in support.

“We sucked. It was awful. But I saw blondie there in the crowd with you all and it threw me off. He kept cheering when the other team made a point,” Ginny said, with nothing getting past her.

“So sue me. I was rooting for the Magpies. It’s not like I’m your friend,” he shrugged.

“No, you’re not. Which leads me to ask again, why are you here?” Ginny gave him another dirty look.

“I’m with Hermione. As in, she’s my girlfriend. Got a problem?” Draco challenged her.

Ginny just looked at the two of them standing there, now holding hands and she started laughing.

“Oh that’s priceless. Hermione and Malfoy. Now I’ve really seen everything. Can this day get worse?” Ginny lamented.

“George just gave Draco a job at the joke shop,” Ron piped up.

“What? Okay, obviously everyone has some sort of ailment. George! What the hell?” Ginny smacked her older brother on the arm.

“Ouch! So what if I gave him a job? The bugger needed one. And I need help at the shop! All Ron does is chat up birds who are twice his age because he can’t get a proper date! Which means, I have to do everything!” George ranted.

“I do not chat up birds twice my age!” Ron disagreed.

“Yes, you do! You’re chatting up the mum’s of the kids who frequent the shop. It’s hilarious to watch, actually,” George laughed.

“I’m trying to make sales! I’m not looking for a date,” Ron protested.

“Please, you went out with that one woman who was thirty four. She had a twelve year old!” George reminded him.

“Everyone just stop!” Hermione cried, unable to handle all the bickering. “Look Ginny, Draco is with me now. Like it or leave it. And your brother offered him a job. Deal with it. All of you need to deal with it. And if this turns into some sort of game where you mock Draco endlessly and treat him like shit, then you’ll have my wrath to deal with. And I don’t think anyone wants that, do they?” she asked the crowd.

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Ron spoke up.

“I’ve seen your wrath, and it’s not pretty.”

“No, it’s not,” she agreed. “Look, today was fun. And Ginny, you played a great game, even if you lost. And George? Thanks for giving Draco a chance. Now if you all don’t mind, we’re leaving. I’ve had enough of this. But just know, I will be keeping tabs on this situation, so don’t piss me off.”

Everyone just held up their hands and relented their verbal sparring and kept their mouths shut. No one wanted to get on Hermione’s bad side. Least of all Draco, who hoped she wasn’t that mad about his gambling endeavor. But they marched away from everyone and went to the port key in order to head home. Once they got to it, Draco looked at Hermione.

“You’re not mad at me too, are you? About the gambling?”

“No. I mean, sort of. But it’s fine. I just couldn’t handle everyone’s bickering and their opinions of my life. It’s not like when they date someone new or make a mistake, that I call them out on it! Why can’t I live my life the way I want to without getting grief?” she complained.

“I reckon it’s just because they care a lot. Doesn’t make it less annoying, but I think that’s why,” Draco admitted softly.

“Yeah? Well I’m a grown woman. If I’m fucking up, it’s my choice. I’m the one who has to live with my choices, not them. I’m just tired of being treated like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“If you ask me, you handled yourself beautifully. I actually did have fun out here today. Despite the drama. It was great. So what do you say we get a nice supper with the money I won, eh?” Draco asked, trying to lighten her mood.

She smiled at him.

“Can we get Italian food? I’m in desperate need of spaghetti and meatballs right now.”

“Done. We can get whatever you want,” he smiled back.

“I love you, Draco,” she leaned up and kissed him.

“I love you too,” he held her close to him.

And with that, they both grabbed the port key and were transported back to regular life. A life that perhaps would be getting easier for Draco, now that he had a new job that paid a lot more. The only question was, was George actually serious about giving him a chance? Or was it just some game of his? Only time would tell, but Draco was actually eager to start. He just hoped it didn’t blow up in his face. There was a time when he’d never trust a Weasley, but now, that was all he could do. He just hoped it was going to be worth it.

 

To be continued….

Thank you to all my loyal readers! I appreciate the kudos! But I’d really love some comments, so I know if you’re really liking this story. It keeps my muse alive… Thanks again!


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